Holding onto the memories
by A-ccentric
Summary: Lucy has trouble whilst persuing a bandit. Afterwards she slowing begins to forget. Without a way of stopping it, everyone ones worried about how far it will progress. How much will she forget? -NaLu-
1. Taking the dive

Team Natsu was on another mission in a nearby town. The mission was to catch a group of bandits robbing expensive shops. Lucy had to pay her rent soon so Natsu picked an easy job. Gray and Erza had the front while Lucy and Natsu was around the back which was Erza deduced as the next shop they would steal from. The blond mage twiddled a piece of hair between her fingers daydreaming. "What'cha thinkin' about Luce?" The pink haired boy asked. They were hidden in a back alley waiting for the robbers. Lucy was caught off guard by Natsu and it made her jump.

"Huh?" She asked.

"I was wondering what you were thinking about?" Natsu asked. He didn't seem too interested but a bored look played on his face.

"Well I was just wondering about these thieves."

"What about 'em?"

"Well they must be brave; targeting such expensive stores,"

"That's why the reward is so high, since these expensive shops hired us," Natsu reminded her.

"True." Lucy replied. "I still hate sitting in this grubby back alley way," She began to moan. Natsu chuckled to himself. "What are you laughing at?" She snapped.

"It's just though that you might not complain for once." He laughed.

"What do you mean by that?" Lucy growled.

"Nothing." Natsu had to be careful with his words now; he had to be careful not to cut the wrong wire and then the bombs explode. Luckily his chance to disarm the bomb was cancelled as the security bells began to ring. Natsu and Lucy leapt to their feet as two men in black holding a bag full of money began to flee down the streets. They saw Natsu and Lucy chasing them from behind. They split of into down two different streets forcing the pair following them to split up too. Lucy followed her prey right and Natsu his left. Lucy was easily catching up to her target as she chased him up some stairs and now they were running along the rooftops.

Once he was in close enough range Lucy pulled out etoile and flashed it forwards, its grasp caught hold of the robber jerking himself backwards causing him to drop his bag. Money fluttered in the air. The robber watched the money float to the floor. Lucy held onto etoile but was distracted by it falling through the air. The robber's face turned bitter and then enraged. He obviously had a bad temper. He free one of his arms and grabbed onto the whip. Lucy watched with shock as he began to tug at the whip dragging her forward she dug her feet into the floor keeping her firm. But he was overpowering her. She reached for her keys but he was already to close he caught her hand reaching for the keys. A gasp escaped from her in shock. One hand held her whip the other her hand. Her heart began to pound which is when she began to struggle from his grip. He was a strong man and she was no match for him with physical strength. Her foot managed to get a good kick in the back of his knee causing it to buckle. However he recovered to fast to help Lucy make a quick dash for freedom. His rough hand tightens around her wrist. He had dropped her whip by now also clasping her other hand. He pushed her to the edge. She looked down at the water in the channel. They were at least six stories high. Her feet tiptoed on the edge as small stone crumbled in. She struggled in his hands. He pushed her back using one hand to tip her over the water. Her toes touched the edge of the brick but it was no use. If he were to let go she would fall into the water; hard. He had a tight grip of her clothes around her collar. Her hands were hanging on desperately to his arm. "You think you're all smart now don't ya little miss!" His crispy voice bellowed. "You've got some spunk haven't you?" He laughed.

"You're disgusting!" Lucy growled. He began to smile.

"I think I might keep an eye of you!" Her clasped one of her wrist with his hand and a dark green line drew on the outside of her wrist then faded.

"What did you do?" She snapped.

"Doesn't matter, you won't survive anyway." He laughed. His hand released his grip letting her fall. She began to dive through the air plummeting towards the water. Her eyes watched as the man began to disappear from her sight. The fall was in slow motion as she watched her surrounding pass by her.

As she hit the water the ice cold skated up her spine. The water consumed her body dragging it down to the river bed. Her eyes blurred and her body was frozen stiff. The water rushed into her lungs made her feel heavy. All around her the blue surrounded. She watched as the rippling world above her began to fade into darkness.

"Lucy!" A voice began to call from beyond the darkness. Her eyes squinted open. She tried to breath but the weight on her chest was still there. She gasped for air. Her body began to cough up the water releasing the weight and allowing her to breath. Sighs of relief surrounded her. Her eyes were sensitive to the light; she partly opened them as they adjusted. Everyone was crowded around her.

"Natsu?" she grumbled. Her voice was sore so it sounded hoarse.

"Thank god Lucy! I thought you died!" Natsu groaned in relief. Lucy tried to sit up but her head felt heavy; it ached so much that she retreated back to laying down. She lifted her arm over her head blocking the sun from her sight. She felt ice cold and began to shiver. "Here!" Natsu wrapped a blanket over her shoulders pulling her up into a sitting position. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, holding her close to his skin. Natsu was also wet but the only traces left of water was his damp pink hair. _'The rest must of dried of quickly especially with his warm body heat.' _Lucy thought to herself.

"What happened?" Lucy asked pulling the blanket close to her.

"You fell." Gray replied bluntly.

"You fell from a six story building into the canal. Natsu had to dive in a pull you out. You did take in a lot of water" Erza explained.

"We though you would of drowned!" Happy whined.

"Oh." Lucy replied. She leant closer into Natsu; she was drawn to his heat. Her mind became lost in thought about her fall.

"What happened to you make you end up fall six stories Lucy?" Erza asked curiously. Lucy looked up from burring her head in the blanket to reach Erza's intense eyes making her retreat back to the blanket. Gray noticed Lucy's face begin to strain. Her head throbbed. She tried to think back to what happened. However she was drawing a blank. She couldn't remember anything.

"Lucy?" Gray asked concerning. Lucy began to panic. Why couldn't she remember? She struggled trying to pull any memory.

"I- I don't...I don't remember." She stuttered. Her breathing became short and fast and her heart beat was rapid. Natsu felt her panic and pulled her closer to him.

"Luce... calm down! You don't need to remember, its okay!" He tried to calm her. But it didn't help she became frustrated.

"Why can't I remember?" She exclaimed tightening her fists around her blanket.

"It must just be from your fall." Gray explained trying to help.

"It's not permanent is it?" Lucy began to panic more causing Natsu to send an irritated look at the confused Gray.

"Lucy breathes!" Erza snapped at Lucy. They all fell quiet as Lucy took in a deep breath of fresh air. Her heart began to slow and her breath regulated. Natsu and Gray took a sigh of relief. _'Good old Erza to sort out the situation!' _Natsu thought to himself. "We'll stop off at the hospital to get Lucy check out then head back to the hotel. They all nodded. It would be dangerous to disobey Erza's orders. Natsu helped the disorientated Lucy up. She was so confused that she couldn't walk straight. In the end the fire mage ended up carrying the drenched mage on his back.


	2. Warming up

Team Natsu, except Lucy, was awaiting news in the waiting room. Erza read through several magazines curiously. Gray chatted to some nurses, Happy and Natsu coloured in pages of a children's colouring book with crayons. When Lucy emerged into the room everyone jumped up in glee them we're so bored. "What did the doctor say?" the Ice mage dove into conversation with haste.

"He said I'm lucky to have survived it!" She laughed. "He said he wanted to keep me here tonight but nothing was wrong with me so I told him I didn't need to. And the amnesia is only temporary" She smiled waving her hand in dismissal.

"Are you sure that was wise?" Erza asked questionably. Lucy just smiled at the concerned group of mages.

"Well I've got my hero here anyway so I'll be fine!" She laughed smiling at Natsu. She quickly began to fly out the door. "I want out of here anyway." They all followed after her out the hospital door.

Lucy explained everything the doctors said about what happened and the entire weird test she had to take. Then she complained about all the staff. As they all arrived at the hotel they were escorted to their room. It was already paid for in full by the owners in the shops they were extremely grateful. They were handed a key. Natsu read out the letters on the label. "P.H? What does P.H mean?" He asked.

"Wait. It says P.H? "Lucy exclaimed "No way!"

"What does it mean?"

"Penthouse!" Lucy cried in glee as the doors swung open to reveal a huge room decorated in a white luxurious interior. It had glass tables with small stones arrange in order of size as the centre piece with two white couches with grey cushions and a soft furry blanket. There was a fireplace to the left and four grand doors, two on either adjacent wall. And one clear glass door opening out onto a balcony looking over at the ocean. Lucy bounded over to each door peeping inside. Then she returned to report her findings. "Boys rooms are on the right girls rooms are on the left." She smiled proud of her accomplishment to uncover the mysteries behind the doors. "Which room do you want Erza? They one on the right or the one on the left?" Lucy asked. Erza's face pondered for a second before she went to have a quick check in each room.

"I'll take the left one." She replied.

"Great! That means my room has the window with the view of the sea!" Lucy cheered.

"Oy Matchstick. I'm taking the right room!" Gray called from by the door.

"What did you call me you Ice pick?" Natsu retorted.

"Are you two fighting?" Erza growled. The two turned back and returned to what they were originally doing; Natsu was eating all the fruit out of the bowl on the dining table before leaping over to the magic ordering service to probably order all the meals on the menu and Gray disappeared into his room. Lucy opened the balcony doors and leant forward over the railing breathing in the salty ocean breeze. She began to smile. But her face began to look strained again. This time the reequip mage came to Lucy's side. The blond mage rubbed her temple hanging her head low, her arms resting on the metal railings. "Are you sure the Doctor said it was okay for you to leave?" she asked concerning.

"Yeah, it's fine. I just have a bit of a headache that's all. It's a shame Wendy didn't come this time..." Lucy moaned. "Actually I think I might just go to bed. We've got a week here anyway curtsey of our employers." Lucy laughed. She was just about to go into her room when she stopped. "Wait? How did we get the reward if we didn't catch the guy I was supposedly chasing?" Lucy asked.

"Well it turns the four that were caught were the group of robbers which attacked the stores. The 5th guy was new and they didn't really care about him. They just needed the four to be caught." Natsu replied. "Wait! What do you mean 'supposedly'?" he asked.

"Well I don't remember chasing him?" Lucy replied calmly.

"What do you remember?" Gray asked curiously as he appeared out of nowhere.

"I remember getting off the train at the station and you telling me about the mission. Then we started to walk somewhere because happy flew into a wall which made me laugh. But that's it." Lucy explained. Happy began to rub his nose at the painful memory.

"Wow! It's like you forgot most of our day!" Natsu exclaimed.

"About 12 hours' worth of the day." Erza replied logically.

"Humph. Oh well I'm off to bed." Lucy held her right wrist rubbing it thoughtfully before entering her room. She shut the door behind her then slid down the back of the door. She held her head in her hand. It thumped horrifically. It had been the same but less painful ever since she woke up on the river side earlier today. She changed out of her clothes and straight into her warm pyjama's. She tucked herself into the puffy bed with feather pillows and silk sheets. She rested her head on the pillow. She took a couple of painkillers the doctors gave her. The tablets made her feel a bit serial. She waved her hand in front of her face and it blurred as it moved. Lucy also felt drowsy so it wasn't hard for her to fall into a deep slumber.

Erza sat in one of the chairs in deep thought. She was obviously disturbed by something. "What is it Erza?" Gray finally asked snapping her into reality. Happy ate a delicious salmon; one of many piled high on a plate. Natsu was munching on some flaming hot chicken wings and legs whilst drinking a glass of fire whiskey. The reequip mage began to play with her cheese cake on her plate rolling the strawberries and cutting them up with the side of her fork. Gray just drank a bottle of water.

"I think Lucy shouldn't have refused the offer to stay over at the hospital for the night...that's all." The mage muttered.

"Well she said she was feeling alright." Natsu joined in the conversation taking a breath of fresh air from all his eating.

"Lucy's not stupid. If she needed to she would have stayed." Gray added.

"Humph." Erza mumbled. She let out a long sigh and finally began to eat her cheesecake.

The next morning Lucy woke up to the headache causing more fulgurations of pain to beat rhythmically throughout her mind. She groaned at the pain rubbing her forehead. She took one tablet today instead of two like she did last night. She didn't want them to notice her taking them because then they would ask if she was in pain. She realised it was late afternoon and everyone must have gone out. So she decided to get a bath before ordering her room service. She was able to relax in the warm water. She began to sink her head under the surface but then the horrible image of the deep blue waters absorbing her snapped into her mind the water turned Ice cold clinging to her skin. Her body felt heavy pushing her down. Lucy pulled herself up out of the bath in one fluid jump. She gasped for air in shock. Her head began to ring again. _'What was that?'_ She asked herself. '_It must have been from when I fell in the water.'_ Lucy dressed into a cotton robe and righted the rope in a tight knot. She reached for the phone on her bedside and dialled 3 for room service. A menu by her side gave her a list of codes for different meals to be dialled. It was a magic ordering service.

Lucy was able to change into her warm trousers and her big woolly jumper which she had surprisingly brought with her to the beach. A voice called from the door and Lucy leapt up to answer it. A small woman dressed in fancy hotel uniform brought in a trolley full of food including her own breakfast; fried eggs, sausages, tomatoes, bacon and toast. She thanked the woman politely as she laid the food on the table and left. Lucy began to tuck into her meal enjoying every warm bite. Ever since that bath she couldn't get warm. Her head still rang but the pain killer wouldn't help with that.

"Morning lace!" A voice cheerfully called. As a pink haired boy stumbled into the room.

"Its late afternoon now Natsu," Lucy reminded the dragon slayer as he charged through the front doors.

"Oh." he replied. "What ya doing'?" He studied the strange blond girl huddled by the fire. She would occasionally probe it with a metal pole. "It's so warm in here!" Natsu whimpered reaching for the magic ordering service; or which Lucy now shortened to the M.O.S.

"Really?" Lucy asked in surprise. "I can't seem to get warm." She buried herself under the soft grey blanket, whilst adding another piece of fire wood.

"Hmmm..." Natsu thought looking over at Lucy. "I have an idea!" He reacted for M.O.S. and began to dial a bunch of codes.

Before the two knew it there was the small little lady again. She placed plates of different foods on the table then left again without a word. Natsu scooped up the plates and carried them over to the shivering mage. He planted himself next to Lucy and dropped the pile of food in front of her. It was piled high of chocolate and marshmallows.

"Smores?" Lucy asked.

"Oh course!" He smiled. "Ah and these!" He smiled wavy a couple of packets of hot chocolate powder in her face. He leapt up and made his way to the small kitchen consisting of a mini fridge, microwave, kettle and a few cupboards full of mugs, glasses and plates also another draw with cutlery. Natsu spent 10 minutes making the hot chocolates.

When he finally finished he brought over two mugs of hot chocolate with whipped cream, chocolate shaving and waver straws. Lucy looked at the hot chocolate eagerly. "Careful it's hot," Natsu warned passing her the mug. His hand stroked her fingers as he passed it. She held it between her hands; the mug was warming her hands. "Wow Luce! You're freezing!" Natsu exclaimed. He lifted the blanket off Lucy and pulled her close towards him they put the blanket over the both of them. The sky was already dark and the sun had set. The both of them drank their hot chocolates, eating smores and watching the flames dance. Lucy snuggled up to the dragon slayer; his warm skin on hers. "Luce...is you okay?" Natsu asked staring deeply into her eyes with his cute onyx orbs. She felt his stare piercing into her like he was seeing everything in a glance. Her gaze broke away staring into the orange flames.

"I'm fine Natsu," She replied cheerfully. Natsu smiled back nodding and accepting her reply. Erza on the other hand still did not; she would watch Lucy's every move. Just casually eating a cheesecake but secretly evaluating her. That night Lucy was just happy to convince Natsu. In the end she fell asleep on him and he had to carry her to her bed and tuck her in under the sheets. She felt rather embarrassed about it but he was the only time she had fallen asleep all day without a painkiller. She completely forgot about her headache that whole night.


	3. Tipping over

The next morning when she woke her headache came to take revenge. It was like a thousand needles stabbing her all at once, over and over again. Lucy sat on the edge of the bed holding her head in her palms, gritting her teeth at the pain. She tried to reach for the painkillers but ended up knocking them over tipping them all over the floor. Her hands tumbled around on the floor desperately trying to find one. In the end she gave up. Using the bed post as support she dragged her body up off the floor and staggered into the bathroom. Her hands shook. The pain was unbearable. She collapsed onto the floor holding her head in pain. She would not scream or shout because it could alert the other Fairy Tail members in the main room. In the end she just held out for what felt like hours. The pain just increased and increased. It was too intense but she gritted down on her jaw. Her vision began to become fuzzy as the room spun. Her body felt limp but her head still pounded. She began to fall down her head dragging her down like a 10 ton weight. She fell hard against the cold floor with a bang and it went dark.

Natsu, Erza, Happy and Gray were in the main room. Gray was dripping wet after the shower he just took. His towel was draped over his shoulders. The ice mage was looking through the menu pondering on what he should order. Natsu sat on the balcony with Happy watching the waves on the beach taking in the salty sea air. Erza watched him from a distance, eating a chocolate cheesecake with raspberry swirls.

Suddenly the mage dropped her plate onto the floor causing it to crash against the floor. The fairy tail boys leapt round at surprise from the smashed plate. "Erza?" Gray asked confused at her strained face. "What is it?" She sat blank and wasn't responding. She rose from her seat and stopped.

"Erza?" Natsu asked again. She shook her head and smiled at the two leaning down to pick up the pieces of the plate and splattered cake,

"It's okay. It's nothing. I just thought..." she trailed off. "It's nothing," Natsu and Gray watched her curiously unsure of what just happened. But the fire mage and blue feline decided to let it pass.

"Why don't we go to the beach today?" Natsu suggested.

"Aye!" Happy replied.

"Yeah, sounds like fun." Gray agreed.

"Ok we'll go." Erza laughed.

"I'll go ask Luce!" Natsu proclaimed.

"Is she even up yet? She's not normally one to sleep in?" Gray pondered. As Natsu entered her room.

"Luce?" he called quietly to her room. But her bed was empty. "Lucy?" He called confused. Erza followed him into the room. Instantly she noticed the turned over pot on her dresser. She swiftly moved over to the bottle picking it up whilst reading the inscription on the side.

"Painkillers?" she read out. Gray was now in the room as well. The reequip moved her feet aside looking at the crushed tablets scattered onto the floor. Her face went pale. "Natsu! Find Lucy now!" Erza snapped at the boy. He looked shocked.

"What wrong Erza?" Gray asked worried. Natsu was opening the door to Lucy's bathroom. His eyes caught sight of the mirror in the bathroom. In the reflection he saw a pale white girl fallen on the bathroom floor.

"Luce!" He cried running into the bathroom. The other two mages and a blue cat followed instantly through the door. "Luce!" Natsu cried. He had scooped her up into his arms holding her gently.

"Quick! We need to get her to the hospital!" Gray exclaimed.

"Natsu carry her down to the magic mobile down, it's outside on the front!" The scarlet haired mage commanded. Natsu picked up her limp body and began to carry out of the room. Erza swiped the bottle from the side and followed after him with Gray and Happy behind her.

As they reached the magic mobile Gray swung the back door open for Natsu. The dragon slayer jumped in the back holding Lucy on his lap. The ice mage jumped in after followed by Happy. He slammed the door shut as Erza slipped on the magic power line and drove ferociously down the streets to the hospital.

Natsu sat in the back of the car stroking stray pieces of hair in her face. His face was worried for his image. Gray watched sympathetically at his friend, he too was concerned for Lucy but everyone knew how much Natsu cared for her; more than anyone. They all swung as they would turn round sharp corners. It wasn't too much further to the hospital. Happy noticed that Natsu wasn't getting travel sickness. He decided against pointing it out just in case it reminded him. Happy sat at Lucy's feet holding onto her toes with his two paws.

The magic mobile halted with a shriek outside the hospital front doors. Gray jumped out first holding the door for Natsu and Lucy. Natsu leapt out the door and charged straight into the hospital. Doctors saw his distress and immediately ran to his air. They pulled out a gurney which he carefully laid Lucy's limp body on. The doctors stopped him as they came to a set of double doors. They wielded away Lucy into an emergency room. Natsu watched from through the glass till she was out of sight and began to wander back to the waiting room where he dropped onto a door holding his head in his palms. Gray, Erza, Happy and Natsu sat silently for hours whilst they waiting. Eventually Erza had to go and place the magic mobile out back.

When she arrived Natsu was sat silently, depressed in a corner. Gray was fetching drinks from the vending machine while Happy sat quietly next to Natsu. He tried to find words to comfort him but he couldn't find any.

A few more hours passed before a doctor finally emerged, walking towards the guild members. Erza jumped up to talk to the doctor leaving Natsu, Gray and Happy to watch intensely. They studied the expressions of both the doctor and the others. Erza finally nodded her face was blank as she approached the boys. They didn't know what to expect from the news. She sat in front of the two as their eyes watched her eagerly. "When Lucy hit the water...she suffered a severe head trauma. However it was unnoticeable from the test they took and Lucy appeared to be fine. The doctors say she must have been suffering from excruciatingly painful headaches since yesterday. She now is recovering in I.C.U. They gave her some medication which should relieve her from the pain. She just had surgery so she will be a little groggy when she wakes up. But for now she's unconscious. We can go visit now." Erza explained.

Everyone jumped up to go visit Lucy except Natsu. He was still contemplating Erza's words in his head. "She's okay now Natsu." The mage smiled laying her hand down on his shoulder. He looked up to see her caring eyes. He nodded and followed behind the rest as they approached Lucy's room. Lucy was laid in a bed with a small I.V drip attached to her arm. Her blanket was pulled up to her chest and both arms were laid out. Natsu stood in the corner watching as Erza examined the machine and Gray watched Lucy. Happy sat by her feet holding onto her toes; for some reason it always brought comfort to him. "Is Lucy really going to be okay?" Happy whimpered to Erza. She turned to look at the sad feline and nodded with a cheerful smile. As the night passed everyone stayed in the room. Gray fell asleep in the chair in the corner. Happy was curled up at the bottom of Lucy's bed wrapped around her feet and Natsu was asleep in the chair beside Lucy's head. His hand was entwined with hers holding tightly, even when he slept. Erza watched from the door frame.

Lucy's eyes began to flutter open revealing big brown eyes. Erza began to smile as Lucy caught eyes with her. "Erza?" She grumbled. Erza put her fingers to her lips and shushed her. She gestured to the sleeping boys around her. Lucy smiled at them all. She felt Natsu's hand in hers and gave it a small squeeze.

"You finally woke I see," Erza whispered walking to the opposite bedside to Natsu.

"What happened?" She asked confused.

"You don't remember?" Erza asked shocked.

"No? Last thing I remember is us leaving for the train station to go do that job thing?" Lucy replied. Erza was stunned. She had lost more of her memory than the other day.

"Lucy, we've done the job Lucy. You were cornered by one of the crooks on a roof top and you fell six stories into the canal. Natsu had to jump in and drag you out. Then we went to the hospital and you said you were fine so we went back to a hotel the employers paid for and then you collapsed in the bathroom so we brought you here." Erza summarized.

"What!" Lucy exclaimed waking up the boys. "That can't have happened! I would have remembered! Stop messing with me Erza!" Lucy began to yell frantically. Natsu lifted his head to see the awake Lucy frantically yelling at Erza. But he just leapt up swing his arms around her.

"Luce! You're awake!" He called happily. This woke up happy. He charged into Lucy and Natsu's hug squeezing in-between. Gray was now awake and laughing from the corner.

"Good to see your-" And then stopped her saw the distressed look on Lucy's face. Natsu and Happy pulled away to see her watching them, confused. Small tears began to trickle down Lucy's face.

"Natsu...tell Erza! Tell her to stop joking with me. She said we left for the train station 3 days ago but it wasn't it were this morning! Tell her Natsu!" She cried holding onto his vest. Natsu's face dropped as he glanced up at Erza. She shook her head.

"Luce...that was three days ago." Natsu confirmed.


	4. Wake up and forget

"No! No!" She whined. "Gray..." she looked over him for reassurance but he just looked at his feet. "No..." her voice broke as she began to cry her head falling in her hands.

It took about an hour for Natsu to calm Lucy down and explain everything that had happened thoroughly. Her face was pale white the whole time he told her what happened.

"So I just keep forgetting things..." Lucy sobbed. "How?"

"We don't know..." Gray sighed.

"Luce...Why do you keep rubbing your wrist like that?" Erza asked casually. Lucy lifted her wrist up to reveal a red mark around her wrist where she has been rubbing it. She looked at it curiously.

"I don't know?" Lucy asked still examining her wrist. Natsu took it into the palm of his hands and his gentle fingers stroked over it slowly.

"Is it a habit?" Gray asked.

"Well I don't think I've ever had a habit like that," Lucy replied.

"I've never seen you doing it before this mission..." Natsu added. Gray gave him an irritated look but then moved his stare. The dragon slayer's hands gently touched the red skin. Lucy suddenly laughed pulling her wrist away. "What?" Natsu asked.

"It was ticklish." she giggled.

"You have ticklish wrists?" Natsu laughed. He suddenly grabbed her wrist and began to run his fingers along it. Lucy laughed trying to pull her wrist away.

"Stop Natsu! Stop it tickles!" She giggled. Somehow Lucy ended up with her arms over Natsu's shoulders. She couldn't stop laughing trying to pull them away. However the laughing made her weak so she was useless. Erza gazed out the window; her stare watching the soothing rhythm of waves flowing down the canal. Gray ignored the playful mages on the bed and caught sight of the concerned mage by the window. He walked up next to her looking out the window.

"Erza?" Gray startled the Fairy Tail wizard in deep thought.

"Oh Gray, Sorry. I was just thinking..." Her voice trailed off her gaze looking at Gray briefly before returning to the steady waters.

"About what?" The ice-make mage asked.

"Lucy..."

"What about Lucy?" They both kept their voices quiet to make sure they weren't heard over the childish laughter.

"It's just...something's not right."

"What do you mean by 'not right'?"

"I feel like I'm missing something. But I can't figure out what."

"Is it something to do with Lucy's wrist?"

"Not specifically, but I think there's defiantly a reason she's been rubbing it lately."

"Well the doctor said we can take her home after they get the results from her tests back. We'll talk to master and look into it." Gray smiled. His hand was placed gently on her armoured shoulder. "For now, let's just be happy Lucy's alright." He gave a final smile before going to break up the other two mages. Erza took a deep sigh then turned to join them.

"Give it back!" Lucy laughed.

"Never!" He teased tickling her wrists.

"What an unusual place to be ticklish," Gray commented distracting Natsu. Lucy was able to free her wrist holding it close to her chest. Natsu laughed in defeat.

"You did that on purpose, Ice brain!" Natsu growled at the innocent ice-mage leaning against the wall.

"So what if I did, Matchstick!" Gray retorted. And as usual the two boys were in a shouting match. Happy sat next to Lucy on the bed as they laughed at the two.

"I'm glad you're okay Lucy," Happy sighed. Lucy smiled down at the strange blue feline. She rubbed his head playfully.

"Thanks Happy," She smiled.

It wasn't long before the doctor finally arrived giving Lucy the all clear to go home. She was handed some tablets to take, and a strict regimen of not having any alcohol or other tablets nor was she allowed to be alone for the next few days. The blond mage was curious about the last one but the doctor said it was a precaution and NO extra work. Team Natsu decided that they would all babysit her in turn. Lucy wasn't fond of the idea of being baby sat for 3 days; but there was no arguing with him. She will need a check-up at the doctors back home to make sure she's okay.

It was mid-afternoon when the 5 Fairy Tail wizards departed from the train station heading home. Lucy allowed Natsu to lie on her lap as he slept soundlessly through the whole journey. "Hey, I just thought. Natsu never got sick on the way to the hospital in the car!" Happy exclaimed cheerfully.

"I would say that's because his mind was preoccupied to care, Happy." Gray stated. Lucy let out a small cheerful laugh. She looked down sympathetically at the sleeping boy. Her fingers gently ran through his pink soft hair. Erza gazed out the window in deep thought throughout their journey home; rarely speaking.

As they arrived at the train station in Magnolia, Natsu began to have a normal colour return to his cheeks, leaping up for joy as soon as it stopped. She raced of the train weaving through the crowd. He sat on the paved floor waiting for his friends to unload from the carriage. He like the feeling of solid, non-moving ground under his feet.

As the rest leapt onto the platform they all started there walk to the guild. Lucy decided to stop off home first. And since she needed to be babysat, Natsu and Happy followed her home. She told them to wait outside until she can give her landlady the rent she owed.

When she returned outside they were gone. She looked around before taking a deep sigh. Her face looked up to see an open window.

Keys jingled behind the door and it swung open. Lucy stood in the doorway looking disappointed at the two, who were sprawled out on her bed. Her head shook but she shrugged it off. Her suitcase was tossed to the side of her wardrobe and she went into the kitchen to fetch her glass. It was about time she took a tablet. The cold water helped her swallow it whole. The glass was placed into the sink. Next job... wake up Natsu and Happy. She slowly walked up to the two boys sleeping. As she walked up she caugh sight of their slumbered faces. She didn't want to disturb then; they looked so peaceful. Nevertheless, It was inevitable that they would have to wake up sometime. It might as well be now.

"Natsu. Natsu," She said gently shaking the fire mage. He looked like he was rousing from his sleep. He began to stir and shift in the bed. "Natsu! Get up!" she snapped.

"But Luce..." He mumbled burring his head deeper into the pillow. Lucy turned her back, crossed her arms and held her chin high.

"No Natsu. You need to get up; We are going to go back to the guild." Lucy huffed.

Suddenly two warm hands caught her waist. They pulled her backwards until she fell onto the bed and into Natsu's arms. He held her close to him, his grip tight. They were no way Lucy could wiggle out. "Natsu what are y-!" She yelled started. She stopped when Natsu began to nuzzle his head into her neck. His nose was filled with the sweet scent of strawberries and vanilla. He was still half asleep but was adamant no to let her go. He pulled her closer so her back pressed up against his chest. She let out a deep sigh. "Fine...But only a short nap." She gave up. Natsu smiled to himself playfully. Lucy buried her head into the pillow. She was turned away from him but she always knew he was there. She would feel his soft warm breaths against the back of neck. Her body relaxed and her mind was at peace. Nowhere in the world but in Natsu's arms would make her feel safe. Then the dragon slayer and the celestial wizard fell into a deep slumber. Happy watched the two and giggled.

"The liiiiike each other." Happy purred quietly to himself. Then he curled up into a ball at the end by Lucy's feet and joined them in their sleep.

When Natsu woke Lucy was still sleeping in his arms. Happy purred quietly at their feet. The dragon slayer watched her for a long while as she slept silently. He buried his head into her neck and listened to the sound of her heart beat, gentle and soft. It was such a tranquil feeling; holding her, listening to her heart beat and her beautiful scent. She began to stir in her sleep. Her eyes lids fluttered open. "Hm...Natsu?" She grumbled. Natsu's cheeks began to blush as he pulled himself away turning over and pretending to sleep. She scanned around the room and back at the fire mage. "Natsu!" She exclaimed turning over. She saw pink flecks of hair poking from under the covered. "Natsu! Why are you in my bed?" She yelled at the boy. Natsu turned over and grumbled. He was trying to hide the fact he just watched her sleep for the past hour. Happy began to rouse from his sleep too. His childish moans got Lucy frustrated. "Natsu!" She snapped. She let out a small growl before collecting her clothes into her hands and storming towards the bathroom. She poked her head out the door. "You'd better be gone when I come out of here." She warned.

"But we have to watch you. Whilst you're in your apartment it's our turn to babysit." Happy exclaimed.

"Babysit!" Lucy exclaimed. "What a bad excuse Happy." She sighed.

"But it's true?" Natsu muttered.

"Sure it is!" she sacrastically laughed walking into the bathroom and closing the door behind her with a bang. Natsu and Happy looked at each other confusingly. Rushing water hitting her bathtub echoed through the door into the room. They may have just woken up but that conversation sounded foreign.

"She's so irritable in the mornings..." Happy moaned.

"Yet she was so quiet and peaceful when she was sleeping." Natsu muttered.

"What Natsu?" Happy asked not quite hearing what the boy mumbled.

"Nothing." Natsu snapped. Happy just shrugged and went into the kitchen. He thumbed through her fridge and returned with a fish. Natsu looked curiously at the cat. "There wasn't a fish in there." Natsu stated curiously.

"How do you know?" Happy chewed.

"Because I was looking in there earlier." Natsu replied.

"Going in someone's fridge without permission." Happy tutted shaking his head. Natsu shot a look of irritation at the cat. The feline laughed in retort at the boy. The sound of water from the bathroom stopped with a squeak. The door creaked open and a wet Lucy walked out the bathroom dressed in a small, white mini-skirt and a pink t-shirt. She took her belt and tied Etoile and her keys to it.

"Didn't think you would leave..." She sighed turning to the boys.

"Well we have to wait for you!" Natsu grumbled.

"Humph." She puffed and walked into the kitchen. She almost instantly walked out holding a pot full of small, white pills. "Natsu what are these?"

"Your tablets Luce." He replied pulling on his sandals. "Take one so we can go." He sounded slightly irritated.

"What are they?" She asked curiously.

"I don't know, ask Erza when we get to the guild." He grumbled.

"Lucky I trust you. I'll take one now and ask her later." She nodded flicking a little white tablet onto her tongue then swallowing it whole with a glass of water. She slipped the bottle into her little pink and white shoulder bag. "Come on Natsu-" She said whilst putting on a silver locket around her neck. She had recieved it for her birthday last year. She walked to her door to see Natsu and Happy gone. The window was wide open. "Can they ever just use a door for once!" She muttered to herself in irritation walking to the window. It got slammed shut and locked tight. Her door was locked. She put her key in her bag and skipped down the stairs to meet her two friends outside.

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**-A-ccentric**


	5. Missing memories

"Hurry up Luce!" Natsu called from the end of the street waving his hand. He was smiling now. 'maybe he's only irritable when he wakes up.' Lucy thought to herself. She returned the smile, chasing after them down the street laughing. On their short walk up the guild Happy and Natsu were talking about trivial things together.

"Hey Natsu," Lucy mummbled.

"Yes Luce?" Natsu replied.

"Have you seen that job posted. You know, the one about the robbers. Apparently they robbed some really expensive shops in a nearby town. They're offering a big enough reward to split it into 5 so I can pay my rent for this month. I'm sure Erza and Gray will go." Lucy suggested to Natsu. Natsu looked at her in confusion. But then his face dropped. "What?" She asked looking down at her clothes then her hands reached for her cheeks. "Is the something on my face?" She exclaimed.

"No. Lucy what did we do yesturday?" Natsu asked worringly.

"We went to...hmm..." she began to think. "Ah! We went shopping and you didn't stop moaning." She smiled. "You know Natsu, you should try to shop more; You might like it." She laughed and continued walking up to the guild.

"Natsu! that was two weeks ago..." Happy whispered in distress.

"I know." Natsu sighed. "Let's just go to the guild. Don't say anything for now." Happy nodded and then they followed after the over excited girl.

"Why do you ask?" Lucy turned back and yelled to the two.

"No reason. I just..." Natsu hesitated. "...Forgot. That's all." She smiled and continued forwards.

Gray was walking up to the guild when he ran into Natsu, Lucy and Happy. Natsu and Happy followed Lucy glummly up the street. Natsu had a worried look all over his face. The ice-mage began to pick up his worry as he studied the two.

"Gray!" Lucy called running up to him.

"Hey Luce," He replied.

"There's a job I saw yesturday about some robbers in a nearby have been hitting some really expensive stores and the stores are offering a huge reward for their capture." Lucy exclaimed. Gray looked at her curiously. His gaze flickered over to Natsu. The pink-haired boy just shook his head and hung it low. His eyes filled with sadness. Gray felt heavy in his head. He looked at Lucy with a sorrowful look. "What? Come'on tell me I have something on my face don't I?" She exclaimed pulling out a mirror to check her reflection. She sighed in relief to her clean face. Her gaze turned into a irritated stare at the two miserable boys, watching her in dispair. Her look softened as she slipped the mirror into a compartment in her bag. "What is it?" She asked quietly.

"Nothing, doesn't matter. We should go see Erza; She's expecting us in the guild." Gray muttered, showing a small weary smile. Lucy smiled cheerfully and began to bound up the steps to the guild. Followed by the three sulking mages.

"How much does she remember?" Gray muttered quietly to Natsu.

"She only remeber until two weeks ago, after that shopping trip." Natsu replied with a pitiful look. Gray sighed and continue to walk in silence behind her.

Lucy leapt with glee through the guildhall towards Erza in the corner booth. She was eating a cherry cheese cake. She rolled the cherries round on her plate with her fork. Her mind was in deep thought. She hadn't had chance to talk to master, since he was away and wont be back until tomorrow. "Erza!" A cheery voice called to her. A mage with long blond hair tied back into a pony tail leaping towards her.

"Lucy!" Erza exclaimed. "You seem happy today? Are you suffering from some weird side effect from those tablets or something?" Erza asked curiously studying the girls overly happy nature.

"Oh yeah!" She smiled. Her hands were rummaging through her bag. "I need to talk to you about that. AH! found it!" She pulled a little brown container placing it on the table. "What are they?" She asked curiously.

Erza picked the bottle up off the table and read the label. "Apparently they're buprenorphine." Erza stated.

"Buprenorphine?" A voice exclaimed from the other side of the room. A blue haired mage came running over. She looked at the bottle, pulling out a white tablet and examining it carefully. "Yep definatly buprenorphine!. Is this what the doctor gave you Lucy?" The mage exclaimed. "You know, you really had me worried when I found out what happened!" Levy whined giving the confused blond mage a huge tightly.

"What are you on about Levy?" Lucy asked. Erza instantly picked up on Lucy's confusion. She stopped, frozen stiff, watching her. Levy, on the other hand, ignored Lucy's comment and continued on speaking.

"You must of been super bad, if they ended up giving you buprenorphine." Levy stated. "This stuff's a super strong painkiller. I had these after the thing with phantom Lo-"

"Levy." Lucy interupted. The book-worm stopped and gave looked at Lucy's confusion.

"What is it?" She asked.

"I don't know what you talking about!" She said slowly.

"Hmm?" Levy replied now confused. The rest of team Natsu walked through the door. Erza's eyes shot over towards them. Their depressed and self-pitied faces gave her everything she needed to know. Erza felt her heart wrench at the realization "What do you mean Lucy? You had that accident the other day...Gray told me about it yesterday..." Lucy shook her head.

Erza's fork clanged against her plate. She rose from her chair, grabbed Lucy's arm and dragged her into the guild infermary. She cast a look over to the boys in the doorways. They all nodded and followed after her. Levy was still confused about what's happening. She just shrugged. 'some team Natsu meeting thing.' She thought to herself, buring her nose back in a book.

"Hey Erza! What's going on?" Lucy yelled as Erza released her arm. Lucy slumpted back in a chair besides one of the guild beds. The scarlet hair mage ignored the blond girl in the chair. Erza looked to Natsu. His face dropped. He knew he had to be the one to explain to the confused mage. He nodded and sat besides her looking sorrowful into her eyes. Lucy recoiled herself back looking worried at the dragon slayer. Worry was a rare thing to see on her care-free friend. Seeing it made her feel uneasy.

"Lucy..." He began. She was unsure of where it was going but she was wanted to know. Natsu had to explain everything that happened to her. Once again Lucy was in tears, her stomach twisted when he told her about how she keeps forgetting things.

After a few hours Lucy had listened, cried and calmed down again. Her whole body was still shaking with shock. She had a blanket wrapped over her shoulders. "I suppose that explains last night..." Lucy muttered to herself.

"What happened last night?" Gray asked giving a scornful look at Natsu. Natsu didn't pick up on his look but more eagerly listened to Lucy.

"It was a dream. Or I though it was..." She began pulling the blanket tighter around her, shifting in her chair. Natsu reached out an touched her hand. She smiled gratefully at him. "I was falling through the air. I watched as everything passed by; It was like it was in slow motion. There was a man. I couldn't see him properly but he was watching. He began to walk away out of sight from a roof. And then, I hit somthing ice cold..." She trailed off. Distress filled her eyes as she described it. She gave Natsu's held hand tightly; as if it gave her courage. "That's when I woke up." The room was quiet for a while until Natsu began to sniff the air. He had caught hold of a familiar scent.

"Gramps is back!" He exclaimed.

"I'll go talk to him." Erza proclaimed leaving the room not waiting for objections.

As Erza opened the door the guild was stirring. They had been like that for the few past hours. They muttering and whispering all dropped as they caught the scarlet-haired mage's eyes glaring at them. Master noticed the mage watching from the top of the stairs. She almost flew down the stairs to the old man. "What is it? you looked troubled... and so is the guild." Master greeted the mage seriously. "What's happened?" He demanded to know. Erza glanced around at the rest of the Fairy Tail mages watching closely. "We'll talk in my office." He said as he walked to the second floor.

After Erza explained the events during team Natsu's last mission, he immediatly wanted to see Lucy. The guild caught sight of Master entering the infermary and even more muttering and whispers erupted from the curious Fairy Tail wizards.

Lucy was apologising to Natsu and Happy about this morning, when the master walked in. The blond mage's hand was clasped around her right wrist rubbing it nervously. "Lucy." He smiled walking in. She smiled in reply. But everyone could tell the smile was fake. It was impossible not to see shaking. Natsu sat next to Lucy. The dragon slayer had been standing guard over her ever since they arrived at the guild. Erza couldn't complain about it; Lucy's been under her hawk eye's, waiting, just waiting for something to happen. Master inspected the blond mage with a watchful eye. He studied everything she was doing. Lucy began to shift in her chair rubbing her wrist more. Her eye's avoiding his. She was beging to feel uneased and anxious. Makarov's look became even more intense watching her every move.

Suddenly Lucy jumped up from her chair and screamed. "Stop it!" She stopped frozen, frightened by what she just did she fell onto her knees rubbing her wrist. Her head hung low. Natsu jumped up and crouched down next to her. His hand reached out to touch her.

"Natsu don't." The elderly man spoke sternly. The dragon slayer withdrew his hand looking shocked. "Move away from her." He commanded. Natsu hesitantly took steps back next to the shocked Erza and Gray. Lucy began to sob. It was killing Natsu not to hold her. He couldn't stop himself he took a step forward towards her. A Strong hand caught his wrist. He turned to see Erza. She wasn't looking at him, her eyes were locked on Lucy and the approaching Master but she held his wrist tightly. It was hard for them all. The boy stepped back into line watching disheartendly. As the master got closer she was staying absouloutly still, sobbing and rubbing her wrist. Only about an arms length away from Lucy now, he stood with caution.

She snapped. Screaming, her hand went flying for the Master's face. "Gramps!" Natsu and Gray called. He caught Lucy's right wrist in his palm. A shattering clap of the force of her blow against his palm echoed. They watced in silence. Tears began to poor down Lucy's face. She glared at her hand in shocked. Her heart beat rapidly. She just realised what she had done.

"Master...I- I- " Lucy stuttered. Suddenly her eyes widen. The memory of a man holding onto her wrist before he let her go flashed into her mind. She began to struggle pulling away screaming.

"It's okay Lucy." He smiled gently. He refused to let go of her wrist, instead his hand caught her in the stomach. Knocking her onconsious. Lucy's limp body fell against the wooden floor. Erza released her grip on Natsu as he sprinted to her side. "Put her up onto one of the beds, Natsu." Gramps commanded. He scooped her up into his arms then layed her gently onto the closest bed. He moved stray hairs from her face and dried awau the tears. His onyx eyes watched her angelic face.

"What's wrong with her?" Gray asked darkly from a corner.

"I'm not sure yet..." The master replied calmly. However Erza saw the worry in his eyes.

"She forgets..." Natsu quietly muttered. The three looked at him in confusion. His face did not turn and he did not move; his eyes just calmly watch the girls face as his hand caressed her cheek. "She forgets when she falls asleep." he continued. Makarov looked at him with sadness and nodded his head. He left the room swiftly followed by Erza and Gray. Happy stayed behind with Natsu.

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**If you liked Holding onto the memories try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

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**-A-ccentric**


	6. Vacant Hearts

**Aha, sorry for posting the same chapter twice, how silly of me. I upload many of my stories at the same time so i'm bound to make some mistakes. Anyway, finally, here's chapter 7,**

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As the three others left and entered the Guildhall, it fell silent, all eyes were on them. They were confused to what had happened. Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, Makarov faced to look at his children, taking a deep sigh. "Lucy was in a accident on her last mission..." He began. He spent about another half an hour explaining everything. "Absoloutly no-one is allowed in the infermary to see Lucy." He commanded. Levy was in tears in Gajeel's arms. Wendy began to cry too but Carla was there to comfort her. Erza went over to the small dragon slayer.

"It's my fault Lucy-chan is like this! If I had just gone with you on your mission I could of helped her." Wendy wailed.

"No Wendy." Erza snapped. Wendy's head looked up to see the pained mage. "It wasn't your fault. This will never be your fault Wendy. Never think that." Wendy nodded silently. Her tears still gently ran down her face. She leapt into Erza's arms quietly crying. The mage held onto the small girl whilst she cried for their friend. Happy just sat on the shaded corner of the bar, watching his allies tears.

"Levy." Master called to the blue mage. She lifted her head from Iron dragon slayer's chest. "Come with me. I could use your help." His hand gestured to her to come over to him as he walked into his office. Gajeel let go of the small girl as she walked over to their beloved guild master. She opened the door and followed the man into the office.

"How can I help?" Levy muttered, fighting back the tears.

"I think Lucy is under a spell." Makarov bluntly stated.

"A Spell? But I thought it was becuase of her fall?" Levy exclaimed.

"It seemed that way at first. But after I went to see her..." His voice trailed off.

"What kind of spell could she be under?" Levy asked.

"I'm not sure. But it has something to do with that mysterious robber she was chasing after. He seems most likely to have cast the spell."

"Can I see her?" Levy asked quietly, head hanging from her shoulders.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Natsu's with her at the moment so she's safe.I'll tell you everything you need to know." Master sighed. Levy nodded understanding her mission.

After Makarov explained the details she rushed out of his office down to the Guild library. Gajeels eyes curiously followed after the mage. She wasn't crying anymore. Instead she looked determinded to do something. The aura of the guild turned dark and gloomy. People cried, people sobbed, people sat quietly unable to do anything else.

Natsu spent the night next to Lucy's bed. He waiting up all night for her to wake up. In the end he fell asleep too, exhausted from the day. Erza walked in on the two sleeping peacefully. Natsu's fitted like a lock and key into the nape of Lucy's neck. The scarlet-haired mage pulled a soft blanket over the dragon slayers shoulders.

Two weeks later it was early morning, Erza was with Levy in the library, Gray was absent, Wendy and Carla were researching cures and of course Natsu was with Lucy. The guild was gloomy and quiet, everyone sat at their seats unsure of what to do. If a member of team Natsu was to walk past they would glare at them sympathetically. Gray would be irritated at every look he got and would burst out into anger; in result the ice mage rarely visited the guild. Today felt different to the black-haired boy. He made his way to the guild a strong surge inside him has been begging him to go. At first, he resisted but in the end he lost to his desires.

The mage swung open the doors into Fairy tail. Not many members were here this early in the morning except the usuals; Cana, Mira, Master, Wendy, Carla, Happy, Elfman, Erza, Levy, Gajeel and Natsu, whom always remained in Lucy's room. All eyes latched onto him as he walked in. A small pang of irritation sturred inside. A long deep sigh released out into the air. When he looked up again their eyes had changed gaze to look at the most rarest sight of all; Natsu. He stood on top of the stairs of the guild looking down on Fairy Tail. He looked exhausted and broken. His empty eyes watched the ice-mage approach. "I came to see Lucy." Gray stated awaiting in his path. The slayer nodded and moved so Gray could get to the door. He gently opened the door and disapeared to see her. There were only a few that Natsu would allow to visit Lucy and others in the guild wouldn't even ask. He didn't want them pitting her; he knew she would hate it. His pink soft hair sprung out into random rough kinks. For once he had left the celestrail wizards room. Natsu only appeared once every blue moon; or thats what the guild discribed it as. The boys feet slowly staggered down the stairs. Once he reached the bottom he took on last look into the crowd of guild members. The emotionless face gazed for a few seconds then tore itself away carrying on into the library. Fairy Tail had been struggling how to deal with Natsu when they saw him; there was nothing they could say or do which would comfort him. So in the end they would just wait there, wait for him to do something; but he never did.

Gray's eyes examined the blond mage laying quietly in the bed. The ice-mage dropped into a plush chair by her side, giving a small chuckle. "You know that boy hasn't left you bed all this time. You should be grateful." He knew that Lucy would probably kill Natsu for moaping over her for this long. But what else is he supposed to do. He's stuck between moving on and breaking down; a very narrow line which Natsu is balanced on. He could fall either way at any moment.

In the library, Erza and Levy had piles of books surrounding them. At first their search started out very broad and wide but they managed to narrow it down into smaller catagories. Erza's eyes flicked away from her page to see a pink-haired dragon slayer in the chair next to her. His face looked empty of emotion. The requip mage sighed laying down the book. They boy didn't move or look at her. His eyes were gazed on a white ribbon he would twiddle between his fingers; It was Lucy's. "Natsu, have you had anything to eat today?" she asked kindly. Levy peeped up to see the two, she never heard Natsu enter. He's been a bit like a ghost recently; he would suddenly appear places; quiet and empty. Levy's best friend had to be kept unconsious by a spell so she couldn't do anything to hurt anyone or herself. Meanwhile, Erza and Levy have been searching for clues to the spell cast of her. Levy's eyes returned to her book. The scarlet-haired mage held onto Natsu's wrist causing his hands to stop momentarily. His puppy dog eyes watched her carefully for a second. Then, they tore away and his hands returned to caressing the smooth ribbon. Natsu hadn't spoken anything to anyone ever since what happened to his friend. It shocked him down to the core. His only communication is to Lucy. "We're working on it Natsu you should go get some rest," Erza suggested pulling her hand away. The boy studied her words for a moment before rising from his chair and leaving the room. Before he left his eyes glanced at the blue girl surfing through thousands of books. Levy's eyes met his for a second and their hearts shared a aching pain. They pulled away instantly. The dragon slayer flew from the room and Levy went back to reading her book whilst shadowed by Gajeel.

"You don't have to watch over me like a hawk..." Levy muttered.

"I do." Gajeel simply replied from the corner studing one of the many books she had read through out the day. Levy let out a small sigh of aggravation then dismissed the Iron dragon slayer whilst picking up a new book and tossing the read one over her shoulder. It hit the slayer in the head, but he didn't move an inch. He planted himself firmly near Levy at all times. Some nights she would stay late at the guild and end up falling asleep; he would carry her to her room, tucking her into bed.

The next mornings he would be waiting at the guild for her. Sometimes she would try to arrive earlier so that she could get some time away from his shadow, but he was always there before she was. He had insisted on it. If not, he feared that Levy would starve herself or endanger her own health from her work. For the first 3 days she didn't eat and ended passing out on the library floor. Since then, Gajeel wont leave her alone.

When Natsu returned to Lucy's room he found Gray on the floor. "Gray!" He called to his onconsious friend. A horrible pang jumped through his entire body. His eyes snapped up to see a empty bed. "Gray, Where's Lucy? Gray!" He screamed shaking the boy. "ERZA!" He bellowed to the mage in the library.

After some scutterings downstairs an armoured girl appeared at the door, followed by a startled exceed."What happened?" Erza exclaimed.

"She's gone!" Natsu cried.

"Who?"

"Lucy...Lucy's gone!"

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***Gasp* What? Where could Lucy have gone and how will Natsu react? :O.**

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**And now the usual:**

**If you liked Holding onto the memories try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more Holding onto the Memories don't forget to follow! Love you guys.**

**-A-ccentric**


	7. Missing Aftermath

**I had pins and needles writing this story. The cat was sat on my foot -.- Anyway... BTW! Thank you to all who reviewed; CupcakeGirl633, TabsTeam, Celestail-Mage231, Golden Rose Tanya. e.t.c  
Thank you to all who followed and favorited also!**

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Erza dragged the struggling boy by both end of the white scaled scarf. Natsu couldn't over power the reequip mage no matter how hard he tried. Dragging him through the guild doors, she was determined not to let him storm out of those doors again. Getting a long, thick, and most importantly, fire-resistant length of rope. She tied the dragon slayer to one of the guild columns with an impossible knot. Frantically, he chewed on the edge of the rope. Abnormally sharp slayer canines weren't much of a help at the moment. "Damn it!" He cursed, wriggling against the ropes hoping to loosen them up enough to escape. "Erza let me go!" He demanded resorting to verbal attacks since the ropes didn't budge or dent. Being fire-proof ropes he was at a little disadvantage with magic. There was nothing else he could do.

"No." The woman unsympathetically growled without hesitance.

"Tsk." Natsu puffed, eyes rolling back to the guild doors. "I need to go save Lucy!" Erza said nothing. Her eyes dead of emotion just watched him, a hard glare. Natsu wasn't going to back down to her, not when Lucy needed him. Returning the gaze, the guild gasped. Such a fearsome aura emanated from the two of them. Like hot and cold winds clashing together, thunderous tension rippled between the two. Many of the Fairies felt desperate to flee but found themselves glued to their seats. No one had ever come close to challenging Erza in a glaring contest. It seem like it would be an impossible feat. To the relief of the guild, the competition came to a blunt end. The infirmary doors crashed open as a black haired Gray emerged, flying down the flight of steps towards them. Both team Natsu members hard glared darted onto the ice mage. Flinching at the sight, he stopped dead in his tracks. Recognizing they were both looking at the stripper, Erza softened her gaze and Natsu's evil demeanor diminished. Instead, an information hunger filled them as his onyx eyes locked onto his rivals. Not bothering to stop eye-contact, Gray felt uneasy around the dragon slayer. One of the many things he hated about when Lucy wasn't around was how unstable the fire mage became. Lucy had the ability to sooth or calms him when no one else could, not even Happy. Now this agitation he felt now she wasn't by his side, made the dark haired boy uneasy.

"So you've finally gained complete consciousness." Erza observed, seating herself in a stood, opposite the tied up Salamander.

"Do you remember anything?" The dragon slayer leapt to the gun, earning a sympathetic glance from the reequip mage. Gray's eyebrows furred in thought. Wendy finally trailed down from the infirmary to catch up with the group.

"You got hit pretty hard Gray. That injury was pretty brutal." Wendy sympathized at the struggling ice mage.

"So you don't remember anything?" The reequip mage asked. For the moment of silence, Natsu's shoulders dropped, he felt his heart come close to stopping.

"I do." The ice maker nodded, still in thought. "It's just..."

"What?" Natsu jumped, his heart slowly beginning to beat again. "What do you remember?"

"I remember quiet a bit actually." he mumbled, scratching the back of his neck.

"Out with it Gray." Cana moaned from a neighboring table. Of course everyone had heard of Lucy's disappearance while Erza chased after the slayer when he darted out the doors earlier to go after the stellar mage.

"Well, when I was with Lucy, something happened."

"No kidding." Gajeel groaned.

"Shut. Up." Mira growled at the iron dragon slayer. Shaking in his boots the slayer closed his mouth in obedience.

"Carry on Gray." The scarlet-haired mage nodded softly.

"Well she began to stir, I went to go find you guys but then I noticed something." he recalled.

"Noticed what?" Levy provoked.

"It was like a green band going around her wrist, with some kind of strange writing on it." The blue-haired bookworm gasped. Eyes darted towards her. The fright on her face caused unease on in the entire guild.

"Levy..." Gajeel moved forwards, his fingers reaching to touch her thin arm. Jerking his fingers back as she leapt to life, he watched the girl flee into the library.

Within seconds she reappeared in the doorway. In her arms, she held a big, brown, leather book. With a thump, she slammed it on the table nearest the ice mage. Flickering though the pages she searched frantically. It didn't seem necessary for Levy to be wind reader glasses at this particular moment. She was probably matching or even exceeding their speed. Stopping midway though the dusty book's yellow pages, she called the dark-haired boy over. "Gray, did it look like this?" She asked, pointing to a picture in a book. A green band with foreign characters on it was shown on the page with a small paragraph of writing underneath. Gray nodded. Levy grimaced at the small paragraph while she read it in seconds.

"Then what happened?" The bookworm probed, slamming the book closed with a loud bang and a hiss of dust.

"She hit me over the head with something when I went to the door." Gray grimaced, rubbing the back of his head. Even if Wendy healed the wound, the memory of it still ached. "It was weird though..."

"How?" Natsu regretted asking immediately after he did, he was dreading the answer he knew all too well would come.

"I caught a glimpse of her reflection just before she hit me."

"And?" Erza provoked this time.

"And it wasn't Lucy."

"What?" the guild exclaimed in confusion.

"I mean it was her, but then again he wasn't." the explanation didn't exactly help.

"It's true," Levy interjected, closing a small red book in her hands. No one ever saw her go get the book which made them vaguely curious as to where it appeared from. "Lucy is Lucy. But Lucy isn't Lucy," The whole guild was emotionless, utterly confused on the matter. "The green band you saw around her wrist is the Ancient slave band." She began to explain.

"Slave?!" Mira wailed.

"It was used to brand slaves to know they belonged to someone. Except that's not all it did." the bookworms lips quivered. "It was modified in earlier years. Rumors spread of a man using it to take victims to become slaves for him."

"How is it any different now?" Gray asked, curious. Even though he was sure it wasn't good, he wanted to know anyway.

"It's slowly wiping out Lucy's memory." The guild shrieked in horror. Erza's eyes dropped to the ground. Natsu was frozen stiff.

"So she's Lucy in body, but not Lucy in mind?" The scarlet-haired mage deduced.

"And due to the band, she's desperate to return to her master; whom ever gave her the brand."

"How dangerous is she?"

"She is deadly, to both herself and others."

"Not to mention her magic power." Erza muttered.

Suddenly interrupting their argument, the guild doors burst open. Revealing a small elderly man in the doorway, the guild gasped. "Where is she? Where's Lucy?" Master demanded, hurrying into the guild with a pink-haired healer behind him looking worried. That was a first. Poryluschua wasn't one to get worried. Now that sight was rocketing through the guild members.

"She's gone." Levy mumbled. All eyes focused on the masters frozen body.

"W- What?" he stuttered.

"She said she's gone!" Natsu snapped. "Master, what's wrong with Lucy?" he demanded, moving closer to the dazed man.

"Something very very bad."

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**Dun. Dun. Duuuuun! Whats going to happen now. The mysterious bandit will be revealed soon hopefully.**

* * *

**If you liked Holding onto the memories try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more Holding onto the memories don't forget to follow! Love you guys.**

**-A-ccentric**


	8. Patience

"What do you mean by 'bad'?" Gray asked, being one of the few daring to ask.

"As you've all found out Lucy has the slave brand on her wrist..." he began, sitting on a small chair."Which means Lucy can be controlled by the wizard who cast the spell."

"Wait." Erza interjected. "can?"

"Yes. can. She still has her own will. However, whoever controls her bent her will to wishing to serve her master. Meaning she will prioritize him over anything or anyone, even to the extent of sacrificing her life for him." Eyes dropped to the floor, some stumbling to a nearby seat in shock.

"But it won't lead to that...will it?" Levy almost whispered in a barely audio tone, her voice cracking in fright. A large hand gently lay on her shoulder. She felt ice cold, her skin pale, normally-lively eyes dulled.

"As long as we find him. We should be fine." Master sadly sighed.

"If he hasn't already found out." The edolas-grandeeny muttered under her breath. Unfortunately for her, she had forgotten about the pink-haired dragon slayer silently listening to every word, sat in a corner table of the guild. Eyes spiking up, they sent on the human-dragon. Releasing those eyes on her, she jerked her head to catch Natsu gaze.

"Found out what?" he growled, rising from his seat, weaving through various seats and tables to get closer. Onyx orbs locked on his target as he drew in. Poryluscha glared at the dragon slayer in worry. Master and everyone else's eyes darted towards the pair. Makarov's more stressed than any others, who were mostly filled with shock. "Found out what?" he growled again, lowering his voice deeper, more threatening. Poryluscha just watch him calmly. Electricity sparked through the heavy atmosphere between the two. "Found out-!" he began to yell before the master cut him off.

"Sit." he snapped in a more terrifying tone. "I'll tell you," Doing what he was told; the slayer sat on a stool near the head of the guild. "At first we were wondering what a simple robber was doing with that kind of spell. After me and Poryluscha did some digging, we found something..."

"Found what?" Erza asked concerning, sitting besides the dragon slayer as she was also induced in trance by the worrying unveiling of information.

"That he wasn't just some robber." he sighed. "His name is Renalon Oscurez. Also known as the slave trader."

"I used to hear stories about him as a child. The slave trader never ages never dies and never loses." Levy recited in a hollowing rhyme.

"I thought he was just an old myth, a spooky story." Cana added, with a dreaded look on her sober face.

"No. He is defiantly real." Masters deep grumble through the silent hall echoed in everyone's mind. By the simple tone of his voice, they all knew this guy wasn't good news.

"But why would he want Lucy?" Natsu asked desperately.

"Lucy has the ability to subconsciously cast a certain spell." Poryluscha cut it. "Heavens Gate."

"What's Heave-?" Natsu began to ask before he was cut of by a shrill gasp. Jerking his head around him saw a frightened Levy, quivering in Gajeel's arm.

"Levy?" Gajeel's hands tightened around her biceps.

"D- Did you say Heaven's Gate?" she stuttered, hardly breathing at all. Her knees trembled, her eyes wide in fright.

"What the hell is Heaven's Gate?" Natsu snapped, confused by the panicked expressions.

"Heavens Gate is a spell which allows the caster to open the gates to the heaven and release unimaginable power." The pink-haired dragon spoke unemotionally.

"What kind of power?" Cana questioned.

"No one knows. It's only been vaguely mentioned in rumors."

"How does Lucy know a spell like that?" Mira exclaimed.

"It's a self-defense spell. When in desperate situations she subconsciously casts it. Luckily, she hasn't found out the ability herself, and hasn't been able to cast it."

"No. Lucy will kill herself if she casts that spell!" Levy screamed.

"What?!" The pink-haired dragon slayer spun around to meet the desperate girl's eyes who were glued to Poryluscha's vacant expression.

"She'll die!" her voice broke into a horse cry. "No! You can't let her!"

"She'll die?" Natsu turned to face the pink-haired woman, almost whispering his words. The only answer he got was her eyes falling to her feet. Frozen in his steps he just glared at her. "No." he muttered. "No." his voice became frantic, growing louder and louder. "No. No. No." Hands tugging on his pink hair, he backed up away from everyone. Only stopping when his back hit one of the guild walls.

"Natsu," Erza tried to get through to him. Except she didn't make a dent, he was stuck in a frantic world of his own. Finally, he had broken. Collapsing to his knee's, his head fell against the floor. Crouched over, his hands clawed at the wooden floor.

"Lucy. Lucy. Lucy." he repeated over and over again.

"Natsu! Natsu!" Erza began to frantically call his name. Everyone in the guild was frightened at the sight of the dragon slayer freaking out. It scared everyone to see such an unworldly nightmare appear before their eyes. Master ran directly to the boy's side hoping to help coax him back into reality.

"He finally broke." Gray breathed, eyes watching disbelief. Silent panic raced over the whole guild as the Fairy's eldest member and the reequip mage repeatedly called to Natsu. Even if they were right besides him. They could have been a million miles away.

"L- Lucy's going to... she's going to...no. no. no. no." the fire mage chanted over and over again. Everyone's eyes locked onto the fairy tail ally pushing forward towards the dragon slayer. Slowly, Makarov and the scarlet mage stepped away. Lifting a single hand, she laid it on the dragon slayer's soft pink hair gently. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. Fairy Tail sat on the edge of their seats in anticipation. A small draft chilled the ankles of the members. Soon it began to amplify. Eventually, it was like a galling wind collecting around the two pink-headed mage's. A white light exploded into the guild, engulfing everything.

Natsu looked around; everywhere was white. Where was he? Last thing he remembers was being inside the guild talking about something...what was it they were talking about? For some reason that conversation felt trivial, the fact he couldn't quiet remember didn't faze him either. "Natsu," A soft familiar voice called to him. Onyx eyes darted around. Nothing. He was alone, surrounded by white. "Natsu," it called again. An ache tugged at his heart as his stomach fluttered at the sound. He felt desperate to find it. Why? He couldn't quite put his finger on the voice. Something inside of his yearned for it.

"Who are you?" he called back. It was as if he should know the name, but for some reason he couldn't quiet recall who it belong to still. Guilt gnawed at his stomach, his mind kept telling him to remember.

"Natsu," it whispered again, louder this time. "Natsu," No. It wasn't whispering. It was crying. "Natsu." it begged for him. She begged for him. She? The dragon slayer questioned him self. She needed him. And he needed to find her. What were these feelings? It felt so familiar. Why couldn't he remember her?

"Who are you?" he whispered, stressing his words.

"Natsu." it wailed louder this time.

"Lucy!" he cried back in response, spinning around searching for her. Suddenly he stopped. "Lucy?" he questioned himself. Dark onyx eyes bulged open, his breath escaped him. "Lucy!" he screamed again. How could he ever forget her? It was his Lucy. Lucy was calling for him. She needed him.

"Natsu," A soft voice whimpered behind him. Flipping around, he turned to see her. Dressed in a long, white dress with a beautiful white rose pinned in her hair, her brown eyes gazed at him. Tears streamed down her rose pink cheeks. A small smile formed on her thin lips as she gazed deep into him. A fuzzy feeling warmed his whole body as he moved forward. Gently, his hand cupped her soft cheek.

"Lucy," he sympathetically whispered, closing his eyes, placing his forehead against hers as his other hand wrapped around her back. "I'm so sorry,"

"It's okay Natsu. You'll come for me right?" she smiled, even though the tears still rolled from her chin.

"Of course I will." he reassured her weakly."I'll never stop looking till I find you. I will always save you."

"I know, Natsu." Like magic, her voice sung soothingly through his sensitive ears. Just feeling her so close; her warm skin on his, made him so, so calm. The scent of vanilla and strawberries warming his heart. Soft, smooth breaths brushed against her skin, as her heart beat slowly inside her chest.

His senses of her began to fade. He was slipping from her. Natsu wasn't scared. A cool wind wrapped around them. Daring to open his eyes, he found brown ones watching him deeply. "I will come for you Lucy. I promise." Her gold hair danced wildly in the strong breeze cutting between them. It was unmistakable. Soft lips grazed his cheek. Eyes shooting up in disbelief, he saw the small mischievous smile on her lips. Dearly, he held onto her tightly, pulling her as close as he could, take in ever last bit of her he could. Squeezing his eyes shut as salty tears rolled over his skin, he buried his face in her neck. "Don't go." he whispered, not wanting her to leave him just let. A weak laugh escaped her lips.

"I'll be waiting."

When he opened his eyes again, a flustering gale was dispersing into the air. His hands supported his shaking body hunched over his knees on the guild floor. Salty tears trickled from his chin, splashing against the wooden panels. Arms shook, as they supported his quivering body. Even still, a small smile curved on his lips. Buckling, his arms weakly dropped his torso. His forehead pressed against the wooden floor as he let out a weak laugh. Eyes watched him in shock as Poryluscia stepped away. "Natsu?" A small voice whimpered next to him. Natsu pivoted his head to turn towards the sound. Long blue hair wavered gently in the summer breeze from the open guild doors. Wendy's deep eyes watched him with concern. Pushing himself onto his knees he took a deep breath, containing his laughter. Replacing it was his signature goofy grin.

"Don't worry Wendy. We'll find her." he smiled. Everyone stared in shock, Just a very few moments ago he was breaking down on the floor. But now he was the Natsu they all knew and loved.

"But Lucy-" She began to tear up. Natsu laid his hand comfortingly on her shoulder, rising on his feet.

"Lucy will wait for us."

* * *

**So sorry I haven't updated in forever. I've just been uber busy and kinda still am. I will try to update as soon as.**

* * *

**If you liked Holding onto the memories try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more Holding onto the memories don't forget to follow! Love you guys.**

**-A-ccentric**


	9. Lost and Found

Staggering down the street under the cold moonlight and the harsh rain, she dragged her bruised and battered body further. Where she was going was something she didn't know. All she knew was that she had to get there. Someone was calling her and she need to be there no matter what. That was all that filled her mind as she dragged herself down Magnolia's cold, flooded streets.

A few struggled steps further, she felt her weak knees bucking. In the moment before her legs gave way, she hobbled into the alley way besides her. Why would her her now? Desperation plagued her as anxiety struck with her impaired walking ability.

An heavy weight ached inside her skull. Yet there was nothing in her mind that could tell her anything about who she was, why she was there or what she was doing. Nothing. Memories were things that she did not possess. That didn't matter to her. All that mattered was finding the person calling to her. Whether it rained or snowed, finding that person was her top priority.

Taking a deep breath, the girl used her arms to push against the side of the alley wall and a tin rubbish bin, hoisting her body up. Shaking, her arms struggled as they pulled up her torso. Numbed by the cold, she moved her stiff legs underneath her. Once her feet were supporting underneath her, she released the pressure on her arm and her full weight sat back on her legs. Unfortunately, her legs were weak at the harsh temperatures and they collapsed beneath her again.

Strong muscular arms swung around her waist, catching her firmly. Dark, expensive fabric pressed softly against her face as it laid against their strong chest. Carefully, the arms lifted her body into theirs. Looking up,  
midnight-blue hair wavered in front of her. Dark ocean eyes watched her playfully. It was him. A small bubble of excitement and fulfillment warmed her head and relieved her mind. Even if her soul shifted restlessly inside her as it had been doing all night long. Exhaustion wrapped tightly around her as it hit her finally. In the man's arms, she let herself drift unconscious, watching the green band glow in her response to hers.

A silk white cloak wrapped around their neck. The cold wind fluttered the edges of their hood and the harsh rain slid down over their skin. The ominous figure perched on the roof of Magnolia's famous bell tower. Looking down on the drowning city, a sigh moaned from their lips. "I'm late." they chuckled lightly against the howling wind. "I'd best get started." With that, the figure dropped from the edge of the building, falling into the city covered by the night.

Natsu pondered over a map next to Levy as she began to fill the boy in on possible places Lucy could be.

Erza, Gray, Master, Wendy, Happy and Carl watched with their jaws dropping to the floor. Poryluscia caught their shocked gaze and tutted. "Shut your mouths before you catch flies in there!" the pink haired human-dragon scolded. "And put your clothes on!" She scolded the ice mage, who was -once again- standing in his boxers.

"What the hell did you do to him?" Gray slowly asked, trying to fasten his thoughts around Natsu's sudden change and his belt.

Moments ago Natsu had broken. No matter who called the dragon slayer didn't respond. Poryluscia chanted a spell, locking the boy in a tunnel of air. After that, the slayer got up like nothing happened and began helping in the search for the blonde with a fearsome determination.

"It's a spell called Wind Waverer.' the pharmacist, blandly stated. From the blank stares she received, she knew she would have to elaborate more. "It's a spell that locks people in a wind sphere."

"How would locking him in air make him change so quickly?" Happy jumped in.

"It doesn't. Let me finish!" the pink-haired woman snapped at the feline, shocking its tail off. Satisfied who the cat's reaction, she carried on her explanation.

"I burnt a certain incense with the walls of the wind. The wind was only a barrier to keep the scent within so only Natsu could inhale it. It would be inconvenient to have you all wandering around like delusional idiots." Poryluscia explained.

"You drugged Natsu!" Happy wailed, Olympic to have another harsh glare to send him cowering behind Wendy.

"The incense is a hallucinogenic When the patient will fall under the effects, their subconscious takes control. However in that state your subconscious will show them their true desire." Poryluscia finished.

"So Natsu saw what he truly wanted?" Gray summarized.

"Yes." Poryluscia answered.

"And there was only one possible person he would have saw..." Erza smiled softly.

"Lucy," Wendy finished the scarlet mage off with a gentle smile towards the dragon slayer.

"He liiiiiiiikes her." Happy rolled his tongue nostalgically.

Natsu's ear twitched in the huddle groups direction. A small smile tugged at his lips. It was an obvious guess they made. Nevertheless, it was right. Lucy was his light in the dark. Whether it was a illusion or not, Natsu didn't care. It cleared the fog from his eyes, pushing him in the right direction. The way to Lucy.

White surrounded everything. Every direction was immersed in the blank color Long silky fabric dressed the blonde. Golden hair fell softly onto her shoulders. A golden plaid belt wrapped around her waist, tucking the white dress around her waist. "Where am I?" the girl curiously spun around, wandering into the endless light. After feeling like she had walked for hours in every direction. What was this place? This ocean of white? How did she end up in such a place?

"Hello Lucy." A voice echoed from the empty void. Spinning around on her heels, she turned to see a figure hidden under a white cloak. Black lines with golden embroidery ran down the center and the sides. Like a cross, it intersected on the top of her hood. Only half her face was visible under then white hood that shielded her eyes from view. Lightly tanned and flawless skin warmed her face. Thin pink lips stayed in an motionless line. "Who are you?" The blonde demanded, unsure of the stranger before her.

"Shouldn't it be who are you?" the stranger countered, even though her lips didn't move. Confused, the blonde just watched her with confusion. "Who are you?" the voice echoed again, even as her lips stayed still. A stained expression on the girl's face caused anxiety to bubble within her.

"Wait- I asked you first!" the girl quickly retorted, buying her time to think longer.

"I could tell you." the voice caught her attention. Turning to look quizzically at the cloaked figure, she wondered about her words. It would be a lie to say that there wasn't a yearning inside of her to regain the memories her heart wished for so desperately. Feelings of longing made her heart whimper.

"You...know who I am?" She hesitantly asked, still cautious around the unfamiliar figure. A small twitch at the corners of the serious persons lips looked like it could turn into a smile. Then it settled back down and smile wasn't there.

"Yes...Lucy."

"Is my name Lucy?" She exclaimed with the eagerness of a puppy. A slight nod from the figure gave a bubble of warmth inside of her. "I see...Lucy." she whispered. Nostalgia made her hearth pound at the sound of her name. A small smile crooked on her lips. It seemed empty without a name. At least with this, she had one thing from the past her.

"You are Lucy Heartfilia of Fairy Tail." the voice echoed again. This time, her heart thrashed against her chest as her throat began to close tightly, forcing the air from her lungs.

"F- F- Fairy Tail?" she wheezed, feeling a fear twist and knot her stomach. Quivering, her body began to frantically shake at the name. A large throbbing pounded inside her head as she yearned for air. Lucy's knees fell weak and buckled beneath her, dropping to her hands and knees.

"Lucy." The figure stood closer, hovering in front of her. "You must remember. You must remember Fairy Tail. You are a mage of the guild. Return to your guild. Don't forget who you are. Lu-" the voice urged, even as the body stood still in front of her.

"STOP!" Lucy screamed, clutching her head. "I DON'T WANT TO KNOW! JUST STOP!" Lucy begged, wheezing through her collapsed lungs.

"You came to guild after running from your father. You met Natsu who made your wish of becoming a mage in Fairy Tail true." The voice rapidly continued. Each layer of information crushed her body like a ton of bricks. No matter how much Lucy screamed the voice continued.

"I DON'T WANT TO REMEMBER!" Lucy screamed, tears rolling from her eyes. Fright boiled inside of her. Death itself was clutching her body.

"REMEMBER LUCY!" the voice hollowed in a thundering cry through the white room. All of Lucy's skin felt like it burned on fire. She used everything she had to fight them back. The memories trying to break into her head again. Fear repelled them. The monsterous fright of the memories filling inside her. Lucy grabbed her wrist as the green light illuminated itself again. "I DON'T NEED MEMORIES! I NEED HIM!"

"NO LUCY THAT'S NOT YOU. YOU'RE UNDER A SPELL!" the voice cried again. Sweat trickled down the side of the tanned cheek of the motionless figure as her body struggled to stay visible, fading into the whiteness.

"LU-" she tried one last time.

"NO!" Lucy screamed in a deafening cry, finalizing her answer under the tremendous pain searing throughout her whole body.

She shot up, gasping for air. Cold sweat trickled down her red hot face. Goosebumps ran down her skin. Looking around Lucy saw she wasn't in the white room anymore. "What the hell was that?" she muttered, letting her aching head fall into her cool palms. What was that white room? Who was that person? Why was she screaming at her to remember? Whatever it was, she didn't want to remember. Releasing a deep sigh as her body slowly calmed down. Once she opened her eyes again, she saw the cotton sheets spread over her legs. Confusion fluttered over her face. Finally, she looked up and scanned around the room. "Where am I?" she wondered allowed. A small pale room with a soft, single cabin bed and wooden floors and walls surrounded her. A sink was built into the wall and a small bed side table and wardrobe sat adjacent to her.

Dragging off the blanket, she slipped her legs off the edge of her bed. Slightly, she felt a pang of ache through all her muscles as she moved. Taking a deep breath, she cautiously stood, being careful not to put to much pressure on her body too quickly. Eventually, she managed to shakily stand on her weak legs. Soft, white fabric wrapped her legs in a flexible, comfortable material. The same material made the tank top on her top half. Blonde hair was bundled up into a pony tail. White, finger-less gloves were on either hand, covering her palms and the backs of her hands. Curiously, she examined the gloves and the Velcro around her wrists. They were tightly secured on her hands. Temptation made her slowly pull on the Velcro of one of the gloves. As the strap tore from it's counter-part, it made it's distinctive ripping sound.

"I wouldn't take them off." A soft voice called from the doorway. Jumping at the surprised voice, she pressed the strap back down and shot her head in the direction of the door. Glossy dark-blue hair brushed up and over in a forwards curl. Deep sea-blue eyes gazed on a pale face. A sharp cut, navy suit hugged his abs and muscles. Black, freshly polished shoes squeaked as he cautiously moved closer. Something pulled at her mind. It tugged her forwards towards the man. Without noticing, she had moved closer to the stranger, her wrist tingling. Looking down she saw the green band around her arm glowing brighter at every inch she closed the gap between them. When she looked up, she saw she was almost pushed completely up against the mans chest. With her wrist still tugging closer to be with his, she shuffled a step closer. The man didn't seem timid and shy, but strong and confident as she moved into his personal space. Beating rapidly her heart thrashed against her chest. Only millimeters apart her wrist stopped. Slowly, she watched as his wrist finally moved in, to wrap around her small hand with his large, strong one.

Suddenly, everything calmed inside her body. The turbulence inside her aching heart from her dream dissipated instantly as her mind settled on only him. A relaxing coolness spread like water in a desert over her throbbing muscles and rapid pulse. It calmed her to an almost trance-like state. All she could do was stare into his deep blue eyes. "What's you name?" his husky voice whispered in her ear.

A quick pang of guilt made her heart skip a beat. A faint call 'remember' echoed in her thoughts. As soon as they both came, they dissolved into that cooling sensation. "I don't know." she whispered in a surprisingly shy tone.

"How about for now, we call you -" The man crouched down onto one knee, bringing her gloved hand to his lips. "- Lucy?" a small smile smirked on his lips as they kissed her hand. At the touch, all her mind went blank, erasing everything. All of it disappeared. The feeling she couldn't place, the curiosity about who she was, the memory of the dream. It was all gone. All that was in her thoughts was the blue. The blue eyes that crashed like a wave over a beach in a thunderstorm. All that mattered. She was Lucy. And Lucy was his. The man with the blue eyes.

"Damn it!" the feminine voice cursed as she dropped to one knee, panting for air. The white hood of the cloak fluttered at the howling winds and the cold rain ran over her tanned features. "I under what that old fool meant now; she's some hard work." Looking up at the sky, rain trickled down her neck. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. Sitting back onto her knees, she watched from the high rooftop she was perched on. The thunder storm pushed the waves to rock the boats tied to the port, rattling their loose ropes and chain as the tied down sails fluttered. "I can't risk another direct approach like that; I'll have to try a different way." the white, cloaked figure sighed, watching the light dart across the dark skies. "LUCY!" several voices called throughout magnolia's town. An ear turned their way as the figure caught the sound. Curiosity peaked her interest as she picked herself up, leaping onto the roofs of the building closer to the center of Magnolia. If she wanted to get a closer look, staying on the outskirts wasn't going to help.

Looking out over the city, she saw several people move throughout Magnolia repeatedly calling her name like a lost pet. One voice sounded close. A deep roar and a soft kittenish whine. "Lucy!" they called in cannon. Peaking over the edge of the roof of a nearby tavern, she caught the sigh of a flying blue cat. "An exceed?" she questioned in a quiet whisper. Below the cat was a strong boy, drenched from the tips of his pink hair all the way down to his sandals. "And a dragon slayer." the mysterious white figure added. A red stamp on the boy's shoulder. The mark of Fairy Tail. Then it hit her. A small smile crooked on her lips as she recognized the unmistakable pair. "I know who you are." she whispered devilishly. Then another idea flashed in her head. "You'll do perfectly." she mused. With the dragon slayers superior hearing, the sound of quiet whispering caught his ear as dark onyx eyes looked up at the roofs to his left. Quickly, she made herself disappear from sight...for now.

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**What? Who is this figure in white? Will she ever make herself known? What does she want with Natsu? Has Lucy completely forgotten who she is? Will Fairy Tail find her? And who is the man with the blue eyes? -Just a list of questions to keep you stirring but feel free to post what you think will happen in the reviews!**

* * *

**If you liked Holding onto the memories try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more Holding onto the memories don't forget to follow! Love you guys.**

**-A-ccentric**


	10. I'm On My Way

One thing the slayer didn't count on was the fact that there were no leads what so ever to finding his mage. Lucy had disappeared without a trace. Strangely enough, he expected nothing less from the girl. With all the experience she had gained after trying several different attempts to slip away from Natsu, it wouldn't be a surprise if she was able to do it subconsciously. All of those attempts never really worked however. Versus Natsu's dragon slayer nose, she was at a loss. The sweet scent of strawberry and vanilla was always around and it always lead to her. That scent was like a drug to Natsu. Like any addict, when his drug was gone, it hit hard. Most people can overcome their addictions, however to Natsu, this was an addiction he never wanted to conquer.

Natsu ran his hands through his soft pink hair, trying to remember that scent. Tonight the rain lashed out on the city, conquering it with harsh winds. Hours had been spent in the weather earlier, aimlessly looking around the city for the golden haired girl before they gave up on the pointless expeditions. Without any leads, there wasn't even a guarantee that Lucy was still in Magnolia. There wasn't even any definite idea on what memories Lucy was carrying with her. For all they know, she could have lost them all. Sadly, that was something they dreaded. Natsu watched the rain drop from the clouds. Everyone stood over a map, thinking about the possible places where the mage could have gone.

Natsu sighed, laying his head on his arms. Natsu bundled himself into Lucy's favourite table at the back of the guild. Next to a window, closed off one side by a wall, Natsu lounged in the booth. Leaning his back against the wall his arm and head rested on the top of the booth seat and his feet sprawled out to the edge of the red seat. Natsu had been pondering it a while. Where could Lucy have gone? Closing his eyes to picture the blonde mage and her addictive scent, a grasp on his mind slowly soothed him into a deep sleep.

Once again Natsu found him stood in a white room. A similar one to the previous hallucination or whatever it was. Everything was white. A small hope inside of him, thought her might be able to see Lucy once again. Natsu spun around in circles, scanning the endless white room. Nothing was there. The only thing he gained was a dizziness, knocking his sense of balance. Shaking his head, the dizziness faded. Natsu looked forward into the whiteness and sighed. "Looking for me?" A soft voice whispered. Jumping around, a figure stood a few meters away from him.

A white cloak covered their body. Black lines ran down the side of the cloak and one down the front and back. Its white hood fell down over their eyes, only showing their lightly tanned skin, small nose and thin, pink lips. Long, thick honey-brown hair ran down to his waist. White ribbons tied her hair in various places down each side of hair. A few stray prices of hair sprung out of her odd hair style. A single wavy brown strand fell over her face.

"Looking for someone?" her soft voice inquisitivly asked. Strangely, her lips never moved as the words echoed in the white chamber.

"Ah. No." Natsu answered giving a curious look at the figure. Natsu's voice didn't seem to have the same effect she had. "Who are you?" Natsu rumbled in a unsure growl.

"I am not the one you are looking for." her echoed voice replied, once again from her unmoving lips.

"Huh?" Natsu gave a confused stare at the figure.

"You're searching for someone." At first her words didn't make sense to the slayer, but then he realised. Lucy.

"How do you know i-" Natsu began to wonder allowed before the echo cut him off.

"You search for her. A friend- A best friend- ..." she paused as her head cocked to the left 45 degrees. Even so, the cloak still did her face from her view. "...Lucy?" For the first time, her lips moved to speak her name, moving slowly so not even the echo followed.

"Where's Lucy do you know?" Natsu ran to move closer to the figure but as he did, she seemed to move further away. No matter how much Natsu ran, she still remained at the same distance. Eventually Natsu gave up. "Where's Lucy?" he panted.

"I know." the voice echoed against still lips. They seemed to have return to the way they were before.

"Where? Where's Lucy?" Natsu repeated. After a moments hesitation, she spoke again.

"I will tell you." Natsu perked up, opening his mouth to thank her. However, she cut in before he got a chance. "IF you can tell me that you will save her." Natsu looked in surprise at the figure. Its straight lips showed all the seriousness the slayer needed to be convinced. For a moment, Natsu closed his eyes and pictured the blond he so desperately wanted back. Taking a gentle breath, Natsu opened his eyes with a fierce determination. It was barely visible however even the figure flinched slightly at the perseverance blazing in his dark, onyx eyes.

"I swear I will save Lucy." Natsu spoke in a clear declaration of fortitude.

Silence followed as the stranger stood frozen watching the boy. Thin lips were parted in shock. Natsu returned to his normal look, settling the fearsome power in his jet black and willful eyes. Realising she was stood so stifly, she recovered. "Very well. I will show you." the voice echoed. And with that, the white world disintegrated.

A rush of images swarmed over Natsu as if he wad there, flying through each image. There was water, sea water. A old, large building hung nearby. The image loomed closer. Several men in black suits stood guard. They were definitely mages.

Once again the image dove through the walls. Room after room it stopped and showed the men guarding. It pointed out several entry and exit points. Finally it stopped in a grand hall with aleast 200 mages in black surrounding a deep navy throne chair. It loomed in, looking up like one of the people in the crowd. It was difficult to see in front of him. People surged infront of him, blocking his line of sight. A person stood infront of the thrown, waving a large gesture towards the men. Something caught his eye. Something stood behind the man. Something blonde. It was Lucy he was sure of it. Even if he couldn't see her properly, it was definitely Lucy. "LUCY!" Natsu began to call. Slowly, his image began to grow darker. "LUCY!" the blonde was devoured intimately a sea of darkness."LUCY!" Natsu yelled desperately, almost throwing the table straight over. Natsu was back in the guild. Eyes glared at him, frozen in shock. Panting for breath, his voice was shallow, but what he said, everyone heard clearly. "I know where Lucy is!" Gasps escaped from the guild members as they glared at the dragon slayer in surprise.

Natsu stood in front of his guild mates as they watched him with disbelief. After explaining the dream, people were unsure what to do next. Were they supposed to believe him? or wasn't they? Either way, they all stood on the edge of the fence, indecisive. Until finally, one person pointed them in the right direction. "He's right." A stern and ages voice said from the crowd. Poryluscia stepped forwards, looking at the pink-haired boy intensly.

"What?" Gray questioned, earning him ignorance from the pink edo-dragon but a scowl from the dragon slayer.

"You dreamt you saw images of a warehouse besides a port?" Poryluscia questioned. Natsu nodded. "Then we must believe Lucy is there." She decided, turning to face the guild. All she did was walk past the members and sit in the chair next to gathered crowd of Fairies. They all watched her curiously, wondering whether she was joking or not.

"But...It was just a dream!" Gray exclaimed finally from umong the stunned mages.

"I see..." the master muttered from the bar top where he sat. Everyone turned to face their beloved master with still dumbfound faces. Nodding to himself, the master lifted his head, staring directly at his children. "We must believe him." Life began to slowly filter back in as voices began to jump out of their mouths.

"How do we know that they're actually there?" Droy whimpered, holding a large loaf of bread in his palms.

"Um...Actually..." A small voice tried to jump in and catch the attention of the crowd. Levy waved and called with her gentle voice but nothing was working. Obviously, her point was relevant but she couldn't find the way to get them to quieten down.

"Oi!" A voice growled from the crowd. Slowly, the seas of voices began to plummit. Everyone turned to see the iron dragon slayer towering above the small blue-haired script mage. "Shrimps got somet to say. So shut up." he moaned in a menacing tone, silencing the rest of the voices. Levy didn't realise Gajeel was behind her until just then. A small blush pinked her cheeks at his chivalry.

"Thanks," she gave a small smile to the floor. Gajeel huffed in reply, sitting back down in the seat he had risen from, acting indifferently.

"Levy~" Jet and Droy whined silently with puppy looks on their faces.

"Um...actually what Natsu says is true. There's a abanodoned warehouse besides the dock that fits Natsu's description. It's large and could easily conseal hundreds of men hiding with in it. Also, it was bought about a month ago by a wealthy man. Apparently, he just dropped a huge brick of jewels on the owners desk and told him to get out." Levy informed the guild.

"What? Who is that guy?" Gray exclaimed in disbelief.

"Nobody knows. But people have called him the Blue Devil."

"Blue Devil? That's not ominous or anything." Happy remarked, sitting next to Natsu. Something told the blue cat that the more Natsu heard the more angry he was gonna get. It wouldn't surprise Happy if the slayer just upped and charged through the front door of the warehouse. His fists clenched around the table edge he leaned against until his knuckles turned white. Even with his poker face, you could see the anger stirring with in the dark irises.

"If what Natsu says is true, and that he managed to hire hundreds of mages to work for him, then we will have to think of a logical plan." Erza advised. "Natsu said he saw all the enterances and exits of the place. If we know which advantage points to take, we can each have a team located at each of them and be able to take the place quickly and efficently."

"We can decide the teams and asign each team a position." Erza continued.

"I drew a plan of the warehouse from Natsu's descrption." Bacus added, showing the scale plan of a builing.

"You guys should go after Lucy. She must be in the big hall with the most mages." Mira spoke to Gray and Erza. Just like that, the plan began to develope. Time was taken to thoroughly create a detailed plan.

Natsu sat besides the small feline, watching the events unfold. Shaking slightly, Happy saw Natsu's body quiver, like he was shivering. Fists clenched tighter around the table edge and his eyes remained staring intensly at the floor besides his feet. "Natsu~" Happy whined silently, his paw clutching a handful of fabric from the slayer's clothes.

Natsu turned to look at his small companion, accidently bringing the intensity with it. Flinching, the cat dropped the fabric from his paws, setting an inch back on the table. Like a burning fire it peirced straight into Happy's soul. Like an icy blizzard, it send chills down his spine. Happy had never seen Natsu like that before. In all honesty, it caused a pang of fear to race the felines heart. "Natsu," Happy whimered again in a quiet mutter.

"Sorry Happy." Natsu mummbled, turning away from the cat. Fear had perked up all over the cat's face at the dragon's glare. Natsu didn't mean to stare at him that way and Happy knew that.

Happy could see the look in the fire slayer's eyes. Dark black iris' burned with an anger Natsu had never seen before. A storm blundered underneath his eyes. This Blue Devil or whoever he is, had taken Lucy away from Natsu. That was something Natsu saw as unforgivable. Even if there was the possibility Lucy had forgotten everything, Natsu wouldn't let that stop him from reaching her. There was nothing Natsu wanted more, than to hold his Lucy again. What fustrated Natsu more than anything was no being able to be there to protect her. Those endless days Natsu waited beside her bed, Happy always listened subtly. Lucy was the only one Natsu would talk to. Even Happy had forgotten the sound of his own name coming from his best friends mouth. What Natsu was telling Lucy wasn't about the day, or how the guild was or anthing like that. Natsu told her stories. Over and over again, he told her about their adventures, mission and even the painful times that they had all shared. Some Happy didn't even remember. It was shocking how good Natsu's memory was when it came to times Natsu and Lucy had spent together. There was a smile on his face that Happy had rarely seen on his face when he told those stories. Once, Happy saw it when Natsu would talk about Igneel. That time, he was talking about Lucy.

As the table creaked under the pressure of Natsu's fists, Happy clung to the slayers fabric once more. "Natsu," Happy spoke again. The creak from the table subsided and the quivering of his body stopped. All what was tense before seemed to have slipped away. Natsu closed his eyes, releasing a sigh and dropping his face into his palm.

When Natsu opened his eyes again, he felt all the tense anger that had been stirring inside of him slip away like water breaking through a dam. "For now," Natsu turned to his partner. "We will do what's best for Lucy. If that means waiting for the plan, then so be it." A small, sadden smile turned on his lips. This softness and patience was something the cat had rarely seen inside the dragon slayer. Happy didn't fear it but welcomed it. Even if this was a different side to Natsu, there would be no reason to say that this wasn't him. This was the Natsu that would do anything, even change his reckless ways, for a certain blonde mage. This was the dragon slayer,Natsu that loved a stellar mage called Lucy.

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**Awh! Happy's comments on his suspicions about Natsu loving Lucy feel kind of inspirational. I did listen to inspirational music. So who is the true identity of the _Blue Devil? _What about the white figure that visited Natsu _and_ Lucy's dream? What plan have Fairy Tail got in store? **

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**If you liked Holding onto the memories try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more Holding onto the memories don't forget to follow! Love you guys.**

**-A-ccentric**


	11. Empty room

**Hello! It;s me again. I don't think I've wrote since last week, so I decided I would try my best to finish writing this story before the Easter holidays are up. I have finished my plan for this story, so all I need to do it type it up. I've been listening to the Fairy tail soundtracks while I've been writing. I ended up crying at_ kizuna_...it's such sad music.**

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**BTW: Bold writing is from when Erza was talking back at the guild. I thought it would add more suspense if she was saying it while it was building up the beggining scene.**

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_A plan had been made. A strategy was formed. The Teams had been decided._

_With Lucy still in the clutches of the Blue Devil, Fairy Tail makes their move..._

With the howling winds blowing a chilling breeze down their necks, they crept in silence. Tree leaves fluttered. Rain thrashed against the street. Lightening sparked with the dark cloud's thunder. Waves crashed against the shore, causing the port's timber to moan as it rocked in the storm. Wildlife shied away from the monstrous weather befalling the city.

Their breath was barely heard under the cries of the cyclone raiding Magnolia city.

**"Gajeel, Lily, Lisanna and Cana. You go to the west entrance." Erza had commanded back at the guild.**

With a soft whisper of their hand's moving along the stone walls, they each slipped through the hallways.

**"Juvia, Mira, Romeo, Wendy and Carla, you take the east side."**

Discrete as ghosts, the teams flew through the dark and deserted hallways.

**"Alzack, Bisca, You take the guards in the south."**

Flames flickered against the draft and the gusts of air that pushed against their dim blaze as the teams darted passed.

**"Jet, Droy, Levy, You take the guards in the north."**

Their rhythmic patter of silent shoes echoed unnoticeable as they each grew nearer and nearer to their targets.

**"Reedus, Vjeeter, Warren and Laki, You take the warning bells at the back of the warehouse."**

As their chests rose and fell, their hearts pumped fast in their chests, adrenaline burning in their veins.

**"Natsu, Gray, Happy...You're with me. We'll take the main hall."**

Windows hidden behind veils of the night, closed darkness around them.

**"Let's go."**

Arced stone halls slowly, but surely, lead the team to their own destination. Slowing down, their feet dropped from their soundless sprint, to a slow jog and then to a gentle walk. Eventually they stopped all together. As their team looked ahead, a towering, dark doorway. Navy, varnished, oak doors mounted above them, staring at the coldly in the face. Cold shivers ran down their spines as the a draft whistled from underneath the door, brushing over their goosebumps covered skin. Heavy, sickening feelings gargled inside their stomachs as fearful feeling festered in their anxious hearts. Thumping wildly inside his head, his head pounded rapidly above his harsh, rasp breathing. Dark eye's revealed from glossy scarlet hair, looked his way. This was it. His team stood behind him, as his fist raised high behind him. From a small ember, flames burst from his fist, bearing light upon the gloomy halls. Closing his eyes, he took one last breath. Sound drown out. Cool air breezed down his lungs, giving him a rejuvenating tingle running through his soul.

Dark eyes shot open. A blazing fist hit hard against the wooden door. Flickering, burning and destructive flames ate the wooden door in seconds, reducing it's mighty gleam into ashes. Crumbling to a pile of black soot, their entrance was open. Shooting into a lightening quick sprint, they dodged passed the crumbling door straight into the hall as large as one for a king. Fists a blaze, swords slicing the air, ice freezing the atmosphere, wings soaring, they rocketed inwards.

Men came running from everywhere, jumping onto the mage's left,right and center. Some jumped from above, displaying their powerful magic which was festering for a fight. That's what was expected. But that was not what happened.

Pounding of feet echoed in the grand chamber. Towering high ceilings curved above them, rafters scaling across them. Black, navy and grey stained glass windows shook within the their flames, battling against the horrendous storm. Only the howls of the winds could be heard in the tremendous hall. "It- It's empty?" Gray exclaimed, his ice sword dissolving into dust.

"Where are they all? The hundreds of wizards that are supposed to be in here?" Erza glared in dismay, scanning around the room. "No one's here." There was not a single sign of life with in the room.

"But Natsu saw it. They've got to be here!" Happy whined, landing on his feet, dropping his wings.

"Well then he saw it wrong!" Gray growled in irritation.

"But-" Happy tried to counter, but stopped. Instead the feline turned to the pink haired dragon slayer. "Natsu..." the cat whined. Pink hair fell over his eyes, casting a dark shadow over his face.

"I- I was sure." Natsu muttered, his head dropping from his shoulders.

"HOW DO YOU KNOW NATSU?" Gray snapped back, feeling his own burning antagonism almost explode from his body.

"SHE'S HERE!" Natsu growled, enraged, hands squeezing into fists until his knuckles turned white.

"YOU SAW HERE IN A _DREAM_ NATSU!" Gray yelled, his hands tingling with his magic ready to pour out of him and onto the dragon slayer. "We shouldn't have trusted your _dream;_ It just led us on a wild goose chase." The ice mage grumbled, his voice lowering only to try and hold back the urge to knock sense into his flame mage rival.

"I SAW HERE; SHE'S HERE!" Natsu rose his head, dark eyes glaring at his friends. Tears pricked his eyes, tempted to run down his face, burning in anger. Teeth bearing at his friends as they gritted down. All his body tensed, shaking with catastrophic dismay. Gasps escaped his friends as his whole body sent guild riding down their spines at their friend.

Realizing his intensity, the dragon slayer backed down, stiffly turning his head away. "She _is_ here..." Natsu murmured under his breath, his body shaking once more. This time, it was under weakness. Slowly his force slipped from his body and mind as he fell to his knees. Natsu heaved and huffed long sharp breaths as his heart thrashed inside his shivering chest. "Lucy's _got_ to be here." Natsu whined, his head sinking off his shoulders as his hands supported his body. On his hands and knee's Natsu felt the tears run along his face as they tickled onto the stone tile floors. "DAMN IT!" Natsu roared, gathering all his remaining strength to push it all out into a blazing blow into the concrete floor. Crackling under the force, it instantly gave way forcing a crater to break deep into the floor sending cracks skiing across the rest of the floor.

"Natsu." Happy whined, reaching his hand out to touch the dragon slayer, but then retracting it again, unsure of what to say.

Shaking under the force of the punch, the whole building shivered in shock as the force. Taken by surprise, she almost fell from the rafters. It's too soon to reveal her identity and even her existence to them yet. Natsu had to be the only exception. Natsu was the chosen median in affairs regarding Lucy Heartfilia. Faith wasn't a thing she gave regularly, it was rare, and the slayer had given the stranger faith. However, the vision she had shown him that night was not false. They were here. That man was here. Lucy too. "Damn it; he must of moved her somewhere while I was in his dream." the concealed stranger hissed under her breath, making sure the dragon slayer's superior hearing would not catch her outrage. Quickly pressing a finger to the side of her temple and closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. Concentrating, she let her magic beam out in every direction. Like an invisible wave it sent sounds and thoughts to her. Registering them quickly, she was able to make use of them. At first she was relieved to notice Lucy was already here. With her low level of magic, it would be dangerous to try and retributive a signal from Lucy's subconscious. However his subconscious was easy to connect to. If he was there, surely she wouldn't be far. "He is here." she growled.

"Gray, inform the others that Lucy's not here." Erza commanded to the irritable, but calmer, ice wizard. Gray nodded, lifting his hand to his head.

"Warren?" Gray spoke, wandering away from the mages, facing the wall. Happy stood near his friend, trying to console him. Erza stood near, watching the dragon slayer sympathetically.

"Natsu, maybe you're right; they could just be hiding somewhere." Happy tried to boost his confidence again.

"Happy." Erza sternly warned him. Happy knew he shouldn't feed his partner false hope, but there was nothing else Happy knew to say. Erza set a heavy gauntlet on the boys shoulder.

"Natsu," she quietly addressed him. "Don't give up just yet; we will find her. Just because your dream was wrong-" Erza tried. Natsu's body stiffened causing her to stop. Gray stopped trying to contact Warren and turned to face the group as he felt the atmosphere thickening.

"Erza-!" Natsu growled, rising to his feet. Once again, his dark eyes turned to match Erza's in a challenging glare.

"Natsu stop this." Erza tried to reason with him before he landed himself somewhere he didn't want to be. Nevertheless, fuel was just being added to the fire raging like a storm inside of him. Natsu's storm was no match for the wailing storm outside their four walls. He was ready to burn anything in his path that got in his way. There was nothing he could do to help it. Natsu was furious. Whether it was at himself or otherwise, it didn't matter. All he wanted was to find Lucy. Their friends. She was _his_ nakama and he wasn't going to let her down. Wherever she was, no matter who was going after her or why she was there, Natsu never let an opportunity arise to betray her trust in him. He always saves her. Delays just kept making him even more frustrated than he already was.

"I need to find Luce!" Natsu snapped. "We're Fairy Tail; We don't give up on our friends!" Natsu snapped.

"We're not." Erza lashed.

"But-"

"No Natsu." Erza turned stern again.

"Erza-" Natsu began to growl before he was cut off.

"Oh my..." A soft and silky voice cooed from the opposite end of the barren hall. The team froze in their tracks, their heads turning to face the noise.

"He's here." she whispered softly, raising her hood a little to gaze down at the man stood at the other end of the hall. From the rafters she could still feel the menace surrounding him as it always had. "be ready." She whispered with hope to the dragon slayer, letting her faith live inside the dragon slayer. Sadly, this was not a fight she could interfere with. Not unless it became absolutely necessary. Heaven's gate needs to be protected. Lucy needs to be protected and Natsu was the only one who could do that.

Looking at the figure at a distance from them, Natsu's dark eyes glared at them.

A dark, navy suit hugged his muscled body. Black,polished shoes sparkled under the candle-light. Glossy midnight-blue hair brushed up in a curve, leaning over his face. Menacing sea-colored eyes sparkled with a playful and devilish glint. Confidence was radiating from his heavy smirk on his tanned, flawless skin. There was no doubt about it. He...is the _Blue Devil_.

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**If you liked Holding onto the memories try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more Holding onto the memories don't forget to follow! Love you guys.**

**-A-ccentric**


	12. Not Without You

**Sorry I havent uploaded in like ages. I begin to procrastinate at the end f a story because I feel hesitant to finish it becuase there will be no more! Wah. But anyway, I'm writing them now. This is the first of the final chapters of 'Holding onto memories' -cherish it- also it takes me a while to write these since i broke my laptop so I have to type on my phone :( My thumbs hurt...**

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"Please don't wreck my floors; they're relics. Did you know this was an old church?" he asked, sliding his foot across the stone letting the dusty grain grind with a crunch as the shoe slid. Admiring eyes stared lovingly at the hard material, even as his face quickly turned to grimace as he caught sight of a wandering spider. In a swift move, his foot slapped over the weak creature. Twisting his foot with a swift sinister grin, it was obliterated. With sweet satisfaction, his sea blue eyes flashed upwards, glaring at the slayer, grin bearing widely.

A cold chill raced down the slayer spine. Evil was pouring out in the gallons from his aura. However, instead of the atmosphere becoming tense, it was just cold. Ice cold. The man with sea blue eyes was taunting him playfully. At first, he seemed composed and collected, watching front his perch. Then, something disturbing festered within his slender body. Gently swaying, his arms and body rocked like a cradle to the beat of his heavy falling shoes. "A...Dragon?" he muttered smiling to himself as his head still bowed from his shoulders. "No. A dragon _slayer_." Flicking his head up with a flash, his cool alter ego bore a sinister grin. "Dragon slayer? ...how interesting."

"Where's Lucy?" Natsu growled, his canines bearing at the man in front. Natsu couldn't help but feel an evil aura expanding out, trying to choke Natsu with its ethereal claws.

"Lucy? Who's that?" The man giggled in his crazy side. However, that side of him was pushed away as the cool one returned.

"Give us Lucy; you're surrounded!" Happy wailed, caught miserably in the cross fire between Natsu and the man. Their silent duel made Happy anxious and he couldn't take it no more. The man didn't seem disturbed by the cat's announcement. Instead, his more...playful side seemed rather amused.

"Surrounded you say..." he mumbled through a stifled laugh. "SURROUNDED YOU SAY?" The man burst into a frenzied laughter, clutching his stomach desperately. In an instant, his crazy-self, finished and the laughter died. The intense blue eyes of the calm blue devil, glared solemnly at the slayer with a slight twitch at the edge of his lips. Extending his arms out wide, doors began to slam open. "You're whose surrounded." he puffed a chuckle.

Several people came flooding inwards, charging into and around the edges of the hall. They didn't even have their faces covered. But that was a part of the plan. It was obvious he wanted them to see his new toys. It was Fairy Tail. Every single one of the mages that were used to infiltrate, stood and watched around the room like several guards, covering every inch of the room. Green bands dusty vaguely over their wrists. Every single one of them.

Suddenly, Laxus, Mira and Levy leapt to life, springing straight towards team Natsu. With their hesitancy to defend themselves, it didn't take long for three of the team to be taken down by their guild mates. Laxus pinned Gray hard against the floor, almost letting his jaw smash down hard. Mira pinned Erza, crushing her face down against the cool stone. Levy grabbed Happy by the tail and pushed a knee into his back. Natsu watched as his friends were taken down but he was just left.

"I'm so sorry, Happy!" Levy whimpered. Wait! Levy could speak of her own free will! Then it struck him. Their faces, each one looking guilty and pitiful. They looked like their normal selves. Lucy had looked almost vacant and wasn't Lucy looking her memories. This time it was different.

"Don't worry; your friends are safe. Their bodies are being controlled but the rest of them are how it was." The blue devil reassured him bluntly.

"Laxus!" Gray exclaimed.

"Just stay down Gray." Laxus advised.

"We're sorry Erza, somehow we all got caught." Mira apologise with a pout on her lips.

"Some super-fast guy moved so quickly and before we knew it, we had these bands on our wrists." Levy sobbed.

"You shouldn't feel so much regret. You took down all but one of my men." the calm devil remarked with a hiss.

"_All but one_?" Natsu muttered, glaring at the man.

"You can come out now!" he bellowed like a song, his frenzy side emerging. "He's a little shy!" the crazy devil giggled with a blush.

Before they knew it, a man with broad shoulders and wide, muscled build stood beside the blue devil. Short, patchy brown hair with silver flecks reached over his large head, above his soul-peering, black eyes. Big, army pants clung to his wide waist, a mud, Gray tank top hung into his darkly tanned muscles. An overly large black jacket stretched at his broad shoulders. After a moment of delay, a small breeze rustled Natsu's pink hair. Natsu jerked his head back from the open door behind him and the man in the front. "So fast." Gray muttered. An eye brow was raised in the direction of the ice mage, along with a smug grin, that was his reply.

"You're the one with the slave brand magic?" Erza growled from the floor. Glancing at the blue-suited man, he got a nod, and began to speak.

"My name's RaZar. I'm a slave trader. You got a problem with it?" RaZar's smug stayed firmly on his lips as he glared at Natsu with a challenging stare. A Mexican accent hung strongly in his voice.

"Yeah. I do." Natsu growled. Tilting his head up slightly to the ceiling, he glared down at Natsu with his piercing black eyes.

"Eh?" RaZar's wide grin turned into a broad smile.

"Didn't you hear me?" Natsu muttered, his eyes steadily holding the man's glare. "I said...I do have a problem."

"Is that so?" The Mexican hissed, feeling irritated that he seemed not to be shaking the boys confidence even by a little bit. "Which bit?"

"You take people against their will. All of it is wronged. So stop wasting my time and GIVE ME LUCY BACK!" Natsu growled, his teeth gritting together.

"Ah. Blondie? She was rather interesting. It was fun to watch her fall. It was even more so to see her survive." RaZar mused to himself, letting his gaze drift with thought.

"Letting her fall?" Natsu repeated.

Suddenly the man stopped, his face remained up at the ceiling but his eyes shot back to the dragon slayer glaring at him with surprise. A bellowing laughter echoed in the hall, shaking the walls.

"It- It was _you_? _You_ dropped Lucy into the water. _You_ dropped _Lucy _off a six story building. _You_...hurt Lucy?" Natsu growled, feeling an anger begin to tear through his muscles.

"It was just a little fun." The man giggled.

Pink hair swayed gently over his face and shadowing his onyx eyes, in time with the howling winds outside their domain. All his muscles clenched in fury, flames began to flicker in his hands, spurting out like fireworks. Quivering with anger, Natsu's body shook trying to keep him contained. It didn't work.

Suddenly, his body erupted into flames, burning throughout the room. Heat blazed out like a tidal wave, sending the room into a burning humidity. Natsu's head snapped back, Night eyes enraged glared directly at the man. "YOU THINK HURTING MY FRIENDS IS OKAY!" Natsu screamed, his body exploding even larger. "YOU BASTARD!" Natsu snapped.

"_Muy Caliente_," The man purred in Spanish. "This looks like it'll be fun." Clutching his jacket at the shoulder, the man tore the fabric straight from his body without even a grunt of effort. Springing onto his toes, his impossibly thick arms raised forwards. With a flick of husband finger, the man grinned. 'Come at me.' he gestured. "Don't hold back dragon slayer." The man growled.

"Never to a man like you!" Natsu growled. Hugging back all his flames he funnelled them into igniting his fist as he sprung from the air. "Iron fist of the fire dragon!" Natsu roared, sending to catch the man's face. Natsu didn't even feel glad when his fist was millimetre away from his face. Too repulsed by his behaviour, Natsu was willing to let his fist just pummel into his skull with no celebrations.

Natsu's fist was colliding hard with the stone floor, letting ripping cracks skate I. Rippling quake, 10 times the size of the one had made earlier. What? He...missed? But how could that have happened. Natsu was sure his fist was mere millimetres away from punching him into the earth.

Thinking about it, the man didn't even make an attempt to move while Natsu's blazing fist came crashing towards him. There was no fear or surprise in his eyes. Instead he seemed almost expectant or bored. Overall he seemed overly confident.

"Too slow." The Mexican voice grumbled cheerfully behind him. As Natsu sprung around, a foot collided with his face. Reeling at the force, Natsu was sent flying into collecting of pews, hiding out of view, breaking several as he crash landed.

"NATSU!" Happy cried. Fairy Tail gasped and went silent, watching in dismay. Just one kick and Natsu was down!

"Already down? Awh man. I was hoping for someone challenging. How aburridisímo!" RaZar moaned, dusting his hands and turning.

"You idiot hot-head get the hell up!" Gray growled.

"Gray!" Mira snapped. A weak laughter began to huff from the pile of fractured wood. Rising from the rising dust, the dragon slayer staggered to his feet.

"Shut up you stupid Ice-princess!" Natsu retorted with a foolish grin. Gray smiled thinly, shaking his head slightly with satisfaction.

"Ah. You survived that. Congratulations." RaZar clapped sarcastically. It may had just been his intuition, but Natsu had a feeling his wasn't being praised. Sliding a hand across his mouth, Natsu wiped the blood from his lip, glaring at the man.

"I made not have made this completely clear to you yet," Natsu grumbled, letting flames begin to crackle from his fists. Natsu's foot slammed against a solid pew, sending it soaring through the aura towards the man. As it flew through the space he occupied, it looked as if it had travelled right through him. Very fast, indeed. Splinters spurted in every direction as the bench smashed against the stone floor. There gazes held each other. Natsu's body erupted into flames once more. "I'M _NOT _LEAVING HERE WITHOUT LUCY!"

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**Woop! Woop! -I'm writing the battle scene between RaZar and Natsu now, i'll be able to upload it soon. and yes I purposely spelt it RaZar becuase it sounds awesome. It was an accidental spelling. **

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**If you liked Holding onto the memories try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more Holding onto the memories don't forget to follow! Love you guys.**

**-A-ccentric**


	13. Mi amigo

**Sorry for a short chapter, I hope to write some more soon but I have so many GCSE's coming up. Did anyone do the maths IGCSE? it's supposed to be international? -anyway...**

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"Not leaving without her huh?" RaZar puffed, stretching his arms behind his head. A thin smile twisted on his thick lips. Swiftly, he sprung onto his toes, looking as light as a feather, contrary to his size. Steadily, his arm lifted and his fingers gestured 'come at me' for the second time.

"Iron fist of the fire dragon!" Natsu roared lifting his fist in the air, leaping. All his weight pushed into his fist as he rumbled through the air, his flames burning and dancing over his clenched knuckles.

Once again, he found his fist colliding with broken stone, having missed his opponent in the blink of an eye. Natsu cursed but immediately dove into another attack. "Talons of the fire dragon!" he yelled, letting his feet of fire dance in the humidity towards the man's face.

Not even a strand of her was turned to crisp. Natsu wasn't going to give up yet! Sucking in a deep breathe, his hands clasped around his mouth. With a thunderous bellow, Natsu blew a blazing tornado of air directly for the calm, still-standing Mexican. "Roar of the fire dragon!"

Flames dissolved into air, empty of any presence. Five foot behind him, stood RaZar popping his knuckles. "You're a bit slow kid. Even your spunky girlfriend was faster." The Mexican mused, licking his tongue over his yellow teeth.

"Don't you dare talk about her!" Natsu snapped, setting a blazing fist towards his face. "Iron fist of the fire dragon!" They were both moving so fast that Fairy Tail could barely watch. However it was not fast enough. When he thought his fist had hit, the man would disappear and reappear an inch out the way. Natsu struck several times. Left hook. Right jab. Left upper cut. Right hook. Left upper cut. It was like hitting a hologram; deceitful image of something that looks like it's there but it's not. Not even Jet could move that fast. As Natsu would be recoiling from an attack, he would send another one split seconds after.

Everyone could see Natsu getting tired. One out of ten strikes would be jerky and a fraction slower. Anxiety flustered in their stomachs at the impossible fact at how fast that guy. "My turn." RaZar grinned, scanning his opponent from a safe amount of feet away.

Appearing as if his present was ever there, he appeared millimetres to the side of Natsu. A knee darted into his chest, funnelling a bone-crushing force through his every muscle.

Natsu was sent flying up to the ceiling. From the force, his body became buried in the roof tiles. Hissing with anger, Natsu's body fell from its hinged position. "Iron fist -" Natsu began to yell before a ripple pain rocked over his body. Speeding faster through the air, Natsu made out the shoes shaped throbbing centre on his back. With a bang, the floor exploded out like a wave of black rock.

"NATSU!" Happy cried. A silence fell over the room. Dust settled, trickling quietly onto the floor. Natsu's body was laid in the centre of a crater, unmoving. "NATSU!" Happy cried again, feeling tears run down his furry cheeks.

"Was that all,_ amigo_?" RaZar sighed, staring down at his defeated opponent.

A harsh laughter echoed throughout the room in a spine-chilling cackle. Blue devil's alter ego, clutched to the navy blue throne chair's back as he held his stomach, gasping for air. Tears of overjoyed amusement trickled from his eyes. "Well done RaZar!" The blue devil winced.

'So he didn't figure it out himself. I was sure hoping he would. Then again, I didn't expect RaZar to be here. I'll just have to tell him myself.' The white-cloaked figure muttered in her mind, weary of the opposition hearing. Taking a smooth breath in, she set her balance and closed her eyes, breathing softly.

Natsu stood in a white room. It looked familiar. For some reason his body felt oddly heavy and he felt sluggish when he moved. Why?

"Natsu." A soft voice called out. Snapping his head behind him, he saw a figure dressed in a white cloak, a hood hiding her face in shadow. Honey-brown hair slipped silky out of the hood and down over her shoulders, swaying near her waist and tied with various white ribbons.

"It's you!" Natsu exclaimed. That's right; he had seen her in a dream. She had shown him to Lucy.

"Hello Natsu." she greeted in an echoing voice, her lips unmoving again.

"Why am I...?" Natsu groaned as his leg sent a pang through his body when he tried to move it.

"You feel heavy don't you. Do you know why?"

"Erg. Well I was fighting that guy and-" Natsu stopped, his eyes bulging out. "That Mexican!" Natsu growled. "I need to beat him so I can get to Lucy. Send me back!"

"Not yet."

"Not yet? What are you taking about? We're wasting time; I need to get to Lucy right away!" Natsu snapped frantically.

"In the dream world, time moves slower. One hour in the dream world equates to one minute in your world. I only need a few minutes." Stood still, her voice sounded calm and collected. "You need my knowledge to beat your opponent." Hesitantly, Natsu sighed, nodding stiffly. Patience was always on top of Natsu's bad points. Lucy always snapped at him for running into something straight away. 'Lucy' Natsu thought, feeling an ache at his chest.

"What do I need to know?" Natsu caved, letting his determination begin to rise in hid chest again.

"Natsu get up!" Happy whimpered. "Natsu! Lucy needs you!"

Natsu's hair rustled in the damp breeze, his body lying in a pile of dust. Tears filled the eyes of the Fairy Tail guild members. Throats tightened, hearts ached, minds thoughtless.

"Natsu..." Happy cried, dropping his face against the floor.

"Damn. That was a little disappointing." RaZar huffed, lifting up his torn jacket. "I wrecked my favourite jacket."

"You shouldn't have got so excited." The cool, composed devil retorted.

"Ah. But he looked so interesting. I couldn't help myself."

"At least he beat the last record by 3 minutes."

"Ah, mi amigo lasted 5 minutes in a battle with me." the man boasted, clapping his hands like an excited seal.

"Damn it Natsu!" Gray hissed. A harsh yelp came from Gray as something sharp jolted through his body. "Laxus what the hell did you just do?"

"Shut up!" Laxus growled in a hushed tone from above him. "I can free a little bit of my power."

"Really?" Erza whispered from inches beside them.

"Yeah. I'm gonna try something; I need your guys help."

"Okay." Erza, Gray and Mira agreed quickly.

"Hey!" Erza growled. "Don't be a coward and fight me, you fiend!" Struggling against Mira's grip, Erza tried her best to wriggle free. Turning a tanned face to the pinned mages, RaZar stopped in conversation and glared with a dark, shadowed eye. Erza replied with a stare almost as intense. Gray had a strange feeling she wasn't even aware she was doing it.

"Titania of Fairy Tail." he muttered. "I've heard a lot about you. But I do not wish to fight you. You would very a great addition to my collection...unsoiled."

"You're a coward!" Gray growled. Walking deadly close to his face, the man glared frightfully.

"Watch your tongue Fullbuster. I might not be so eager to preserve you." RaZar growled his foot tapping impatiently on the floor.

"I don't care!" Gray hissed. Raising his boot high in the air, it built its momentum, flying through the air, too fast for eyes to see. It crashed against Gray's jaw, jerking his body to the side. Gray grunted with a harsh series of coughs following, blood spitting from his lips.

"Gray!" Laxus exclaimed.

"I'm... alright." Gray muttered hoarsely from under the electric wizard's body.

"Damn I was hoping I would at least knock you unconscious or give you brain damage." RaZar moaned.

"You'll have to try harder than that!" Gray taunted, his face lain on the cool floor, blood leaking from his lips. An irritation filled RaZar's dark eyes quickly. It was surprising how easily angered he got. From his and Natsu's fight, it would be a normal assumption to think he was quiet laid back. Apparently not.

"I think I'll take you up on that." RaZar cooed, raising his foot again. It was evident he was moving slower to intimidate and frighten the ice haired mage. It was like rising you hand against an abused dog. However, Gray wasn't an abused dog. Therefore, Gray smiled through his blood stained teeth as a lethal blow swung towards him.

They were hoping for a better opening, but it will have to do. They need to do it now before Gray gets his head kicked off his shoulders. If that hit were to land, who knows if Gray will survive?

"Now!" Mira growled in a shriek.

Suddenly, Laxus' body erupted sky-crackling cannon of electricity. Jolts bolted towards RaZar's body at a million miles per second. There was no escaping this.

Crashing against the man, his body was pushed back. Only by an inch. RaZar dusted the black, charcoal marks over his forearms as he dropped them from their cross. Even the wild and thick hairs on his arms barely flinched at Laxus' attack. "What the hell?" Laxus growled in disbelief. The man seemed delighted to the response as he flexed his arms to relax the muscles.

"I misjudged you Laxus; I thought you wouldn't be able to call your power while in my bind. I was wrong. _Muy bien_, Laxus. I compliment you." RaZar chimed in his rich accent.

"I don't want your compliments." Laxus growled. Already Gray's body was weak underneath him. Trying his best, the ice mage was fighting persistently just to stay conscious.

"You should accept them. You are still under my control boy. Don't try that again." RaZar growled, leaning so close to the lightening dragon slayer, that his sandy, meaty aroma also choked Laxus. A burning around his arm reminded him of the green band around his wrist.

"Go to Hell." Laxus hissed.

With a sigh, RaZar leaned back, folding his trunk arms over each other. With a final scowl at the faint make wizard, he spun on his ankles and marched back over to the blue devil, his black boots clogging on the floor.

"Hang in there, Gray." Laxus reassured the ice mage. Heavy breathing rasped from Gray's lips as he panted hard, blood still escaping from his mouth. The faint  
vibrations jittered along his cheek as the ground moaned in a whisper.

"Finally..." Gray muttered. "It took him long enough." Laxus gave him a perplexed look and exchanged a similar one to Erza and Mira.

Then they realised what he meant. The ground shook gentle, enough for the pinned mages to feel.

"So...that's how you did it." A hoarse voice muttered. RaZar stopped dead in his tracks, his large head twisting slowly over his shoulder.

"So...you're alive." RaZar grumbled in a light growl. Thick, sandy lips were pulled into a straight line.

Rising from the indentation of stone, Natsu stirred. By the strength of his shaking arms, his torso lifted. Weak knees slipped under his chest as the pulled his waist higher. Using his legs, he struggled as he lifted his body up. Soon, his fingers finally stopped grazing the ground as he began to straighten. Stone began to bounce and skip, windows shook in their frames, doors rattled against their hinges. Natsu lifted his body straight, his head hanging from his shoulder. Staggering slightly too either side, Natsu stabilized by moving his heavy feet.

"I know now...how to defeat you." Natsu growled.

"I see." The buff Mexican mused, his tone flat and his body stiff as get eventually turned.

"FIGHT ME RAZAR!" Natsu screamed in a thundering roar. Exploding into a column of fire, his body became captivated by heat and burning flames. Snapping his head up, a grin bore wildly on his lips. Shaking violently, the ground jumped at the strength of his flames. "I'LL BEAT YOU TENFOLD!"

"Challenge accepted." RaZar grumbled, a cold, hard look on his face.

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**look forward to the next chapter, where RaZar's magic is revealed.**

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**If you liked Holding onto the memories try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more Holding onto the memories don't forget to follow! Love you guys.**

**-A-ccentric**


	14. Ring of Fire

**Wow, it's been almost two months since this one was last updated. Well I suppose I owe it to you guys to upload. I stayed up to 3:03am when I need to be up in 4 hours for you guys, because I love you really. And I was scared to go to sleep since there is a gianourmous, (not even kidding) spider sat under my bed, less than 30cm from my face...yay! Carrying on...Chapter 14!**

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Holding onto the memories

Chapter 14: Ring of Fire

RaZar's expression looked grim. It weighed on his face like he had been hit with a brick. Suddenly, his body dissipated. Already, he was behind Natsu, his foot travelling at a speed close to that of light.

As it ploughed through the air, Natsu's body remained still. A tugging at RaZar's lips shone as he felt his foot about to graze his skin.

Rock was crushed to dust under the force. He...missed? As the dust settled, RaZar snapped his head back to see Natsu stood quietly watching him. Looking at him closely, RaZar noticed how his body had barely moved an inch. Yet, it had still moved, if only a centimetre. A low, grumbling chuckle growled from his lips as the Mexican stood tall again. Shaking his ankle, RaZar relaxed his muscles. "So, you got faster." RaZar sighed. "I barely saw you move." A cold, hard set of onyx eyes watched him intensely. "But...you barely know anything. I will discipline you NATSU!" RaZar roared.

Launching from his feet in a split second, Natsu's whole body leapt forward. A fist full of power charged towards the man's thick face. RaZar only had to blink to know to dodge left. Effortlessly, his wide body hoped to the left. Flames burned across his vision as they soared past. RaZar couldn't help but admire the beauty of the red, orange and yellow flames as they whipped past in slowed time. That time was cut short.

Something hot sizzled on his back and send a vibrating through his bones. After a delay, a spine-smashing force hurdles his body forwards through the humid air in a thick column of stone. Natsu stood tall behind where RaZar stood. That hit had taken him by surprise.

With a retching rumble, the whole stone column crumbled over the mexican's body as only his head turned to look over his shoulder. The whites of his eyes bore in over all surprise. Then they narrowed to only show the deep, black abyss of the man's eyes, boiling with rage as they quickly inspected the boy, every single inch. Natsu stared back with an even darker glare, his fists burning with rage.

"You got your fire back, eh? That was quick." RaZar grumbled, as he dusted the grit and fragmented stone off of his clothes, turning to face the dragon slayer. A single stream of blood ran down his forearm from a scratch across his shoulder. A single scratch. RaZar gave it no attention and instead took a single step closer towards the dragon slayer who didn't even bother to flinch at the man's intimidating aura.

"He- He hit him!" The blue devil's crazier side burst into laughter, slamming his fist against the wood of the thrown's arm rest as he gasped for air. "He actually hit him!"

"There's a man before you RaZar, don't take him lightly." The cool, alter-ego resided, shifting his position in his thrown, relaxing his palms on his lap.

"Shut up." RaZar snapped, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth. A red smear across the flat of his hand showed another cut across his lip that everyone else had failed to notice. The man hacked and spat at the ground, flexing his knuckles. "I will show you what it's like to be a man, chico." he spat and just like that, he was gone. A trail of dust swirled into the air after a moments delay.

Fairy tail's eyes darted straight back to Natsu, or at least where he was stood. Just a few stones rattled across the floor at the gust as his body disappeared into a blur. Shapes flew and darted across the room, not quite touching, but grazing as they glided past each other. The air erupted into a sonic boom as the two whirling figures brushed past each other. Each bounding and flying through the air like bolts of lightening.

Suddenly, a blur was sent rocketing down into the stone hard ground of the brick, shaking the unstable building and rippling a quacking shock through each molecule of stone. Before the dust could even settle, the body from the man-shaped hole began to clamber out. Pink hair peaked from the top as bruised and bloody fist dragged the dragon slayer to his knee's.

A lightening quick heel in the spine dropped Natsu straight onto his stomach, pushing his weight into the ground, but not enough to dent it this time. The large body's moulded shape whizzed through the short space and flickered above the crushed dragon slayer. A thick, paw of a hand clutched the pink, spiky hair between his battered and bruised knuckles, tugging it backwards to lift up the boy's face. Blood streaked down the dragon's slayers pale skin as his dark eyes squinted open, his teeth baring, flashing the trade mark, sharp canines of the dragon slayers.

"You may be a little faster, but you're no match for me, boy." RaZar hissed, his other hand wrapping around the boy's chin. "Your girl aint' coming back to ya'. Best put you out of your misery." Razar snared, wrapping his forearm around the dragon slayer's neck, still pushing down his limp body with his stone-ton mass.

"NATSU!" the entire guild shrieked as RaZar's arms tightened and with a quick twist...

Flames erupted in a burning ring, quickly building a wall of fire around the two. The guild members flinched backwards as the fire blazed close to their bodies.

RaZar's grip loosened in surprise as the boiling heat rippled through the air. Seizing the opportunity, Natsu bolted out of his grip, throwing RaZar off balance in the meanwhile. The mexican giant quickly regained his balance and stood, tall, his skin beading with sweat. Natsu barely looked fazed by the growing temperature around them.

"Nice trick boy." RaZar growled, pacing slowly in a circle around the arena of flames, in a calm, collected way, his eyes watching Natsu a little too carefully.

"No matter what you do to me, that wall won't go out until I make it. And you're not getting past it without being burnt to a crisp either." Natsu growled, following RaZars stalking, circling around together like a show down. "You can't see things through it either."

RaZar stopped. His boots coming to a loud halt in a mid-step as his head snapped around to lock onto the pink-haired boy with a powerfully intense glare. Natsu unintentionally took a step back, causing a glitter to gleam in RaZar's gaze as he managed to drag it away. "Smart kid. Well, Smart enough. I know_ she_ told you, it's been a long time since I've seen her." RaZar reminisced with both a scornful expression and a hidden shimmer of something else, something not so...deadly. "She could read me like the back of her hand. That _girl_." RaZar looked about, sighed and settled his gaze back on the dragon slayer.

"Your magic-" Natsu began, watching RaZar's remorseful expression with no emotion at all, not even anger, just...nothing.

"My magic works in the way that, when I brand slave, I own everything about them. Every single memory is mine. That way I have the ability to draw, read, destroy and create memories. I can even use their eyes as my own." RaZar cut him off, explaining himself, his fat hands flexing and clenching in front of his face as he examined them admiringly.

"You took all of my friends memories and read them..." Natsu continued, before getting cut off once again.

"I analyse all of it, and took what I needed. I know everything about you dragon slayer. From the day you entered the guild, the time you found that egg and your precious companion happy came out, to the day you met that girl and saved her from the fake salamander, all the way until now." RaZar snapped, his voice grinding with irritation, fuelling into anger. "I know everything. So, even if I don't have a thousands eyes on you, I can still predict your movements." RaZar dashed across the ground, his fist lashing out towards the dragon slayer's face. Natsu moved an inch out the way, letting the fist brush past his skin effortlessly.

RaZar wasted no movement in shifting the momentum into his leg as it swung around for the back of his head. Natsu leant forward and the kick rustled the hair of the back of his neck as it missed.

RaZar thrashed several punches, kicks and body slams, and each time Natsu just simply, dodged. After a while, Razar used the force from a missed hit to swing his body back to the further edge of the dragon slayer, panting hard as he tried to recover.

"How...How..."RaZar wheezed, leaning his weight onto his knees.

"These walls don't just keep out your eyes, but it also slows you down. No normal human, whether foreign or not, can work under the temperatures that are exceeding 200 degrees in here." Natsu growled, his body slowly, walking closer towards the weakened mexican at an even pace. They stopped at his side. "Unfortunately for you, I'm not any normal human!" Natsu snapped, as RaZar swung his body around to face the dragon slayer. "IRON FIST OF THE FIRE DRAGON!" Natsu bellowed, his fist crashing into the face of mexican, feeling the bones crack under his knuckles. The force sent a rippling boom through the air, the shock wave rippling through the floor as RaZar's body was sent crashing through the wall of fire, whipping him with merciless flames. His body flew through the air at thundering speed until he was thrown through several layers of marble, burying him in thick stone of the wall behind the thrown chair.

The fire flickered and dissipated into the humid air, sinking back into the cold, chill of the blundering storm. Natsu heaved and panted, his body bruised, battered and bloody, most likely with bones broken and fractured. Fairy Tail watched with relief to see Natsu as the last standing, not RaZar. The tightened bar around their wrists tingled and relieved, disappearing out of sight. Quickly, Laxus leapt off Gray, as did Levy and Mira. Laxus quickly lifted Gray's arm around his neck, seeming as though he was barely hanging onto conciousness. Erza and Happy quickly leapt from the ground.

Natsu didn't turn to look at them, or even set his gaze on them, Instead, his dark, burning, onyx eyes stayed steadily onto the man in the blue suit, who watched with the same stare. Suddenly, Natsu broke the stare as his legs dropped buckled beneath him, his body giving into its weakness. Quickly, Erza ducked under his right arm, Gajeel under his left and Happy clung to his scarf, contributing his help. "NATSU!" Happy whined, watching Natsu as he fought to stand and drop into a heap again.

A slow, echoing clap was the only thing that made his body freeze. Natsu's glare worked its way back up to the man, who sat tall on his thrown. Piercing, sea-blue eyes watched him with an icy glare, plain and tentative, but radiating through his body like a chilling burn.

Slowly, RaZar's unconscious body crumbled from the wall, falling and landing with a bang on the stone behind him. But the man didn't even bat and eye lid, his gaze just watched Natsu, with a underlying amusement.

"Congratulations, Natsu. You did well in defeating my third." The blue devil smiled softly, rising from his chair and scooting round to look at the body behind his thrown. As he crouched, a cackling, muttered laugh chuckled from his body, his sharp shoulder blades rolling. In a flash, his quickly twisted to stand again, turning simultaneously. His hand flipped backwards like he was holding a cigarette as his other caressed the wooden edges of his chair.

"Your third?" Erza repeated. The man in blue ignored her completely, his eyes just watching Natsu waiting to reply.

"Your third?!" Natsu shouted, making sure to bear his canines while doing so. A small smile tugged on the edges of the man's thin, pale lips.

"Yes, you cannot have a third without a second, Natsu. Honestly, do you know how to count?" The Blue devil fussed, shaking his head in disapproval. "Want to meet my second?" His head leaned forward as his pupils dilated showing his crazy- splintered edge.

"NO. JUST-" Natsu began to roar in frustration before the guy suddenly cut him off.

"LUCY~" The blue devil chimed. Natsu felt his body turned ice cold as he heard the door swing open behind him, creaking ever so, quietly. Irresistibly, Natsu broke from his friends hold, spinning around to see the figure in the doorway.

"LUCY!" Natsu cried.

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**Doo Doo Doo. Natsu has finally beaten RaZar and freed Fairy Tail! What will happen next? Who knows? I'm writing this as I go along. Aha. Just kidding. I have a plan. Anyway... Look forward to the next chapter when we found out more about Lucy's ...condition. **

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**f you liked Holding onto the memories try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more Holding onto the memories don't forget to follow! Love you guys.**

**-A-ccentric**


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